Stress is a word that many college students hear on a daily basis; it is a concept that resonates with all students, regardless of age or major. People of all ages experience stress at various times in their lives, but college is a particular time when an individual can be plagued by heightened levels of it. At any given time, a college student might feel academic, financial, and social strains, yet they might not possess the resources to satisfy the demands of these stressors. Accumulation of these stressors (and stress in general) can have a negative impact on the lives of college students, but authors of a recent scientific study made an attempt to find the best techniques for reducing stress in college students. In their research-based article “An Examination of Stress in College Students Over the Course of a Semester,” Dr. Timothy Baghurst and Dr. Betty Kelley joined together to explore the topics of stress and stress reduction in relation to college students. According to the authors, stress is inevitably encountered by college students (cite article); they felt this study would benefit college students by potentially discovering some of the most effective stress reduction techniques. Generally speaking, the purpose of the study was to determine if various stress reduction interventions, including stress management, physical activity, and cardiovascular fitness methods, could modify stress levels experienced by female and male college students over the course of a
College is a time of extreme stress due to societal and parental pressures. College students have expectations they have to live up to in order to fulfill and satisfy the needs of both their parents and society. Stress is expressed through a variety of symptoms that can be hazardous to student’s physical and mental health. With such high expectations to do well during college, students may become sleep deprived, which impairs mental capacity, but sleep deprivation is only one of a vast array of symptoms. Stress is present in all aspects of life and there are multiple causes of stress, especially, during the college period which may present itself through many symptoms, but with stress, there are also various coping methods to help students
Although the stress of college students is largely present, it is just another part of college. The real epidemic here besides added pressure on female students is how students as a whole can reduce the amount of stress that is put on them by personal practices. The hardships that students are going through now will be prevalent in the future when they become very successful from all the aspects they were challenged
Stress is a nonspecific response of the human organism to any demand make upon it. It can influence the way we perform on tests and homework and how we act at home or work. There are different types of stress that can occur in the body. Acute stress is the body’s response to imminent danger. This short-term stress usually occurs when we are told we will have a quiz or have to give a speech in class. Chronic stress is a prolonged physical or emotional stress. This can cause damage to the body if the stress lasts for too long. Optimal stress is intense enough to motivate and physically prepare us to perform well but not enough to cause harm to the body.
Regis College’s number one health concern is stress. The problem has come to be, due to the fact that students come from home, where their parents provided them with guidance, to a situation where they are independent. They have personal responsibility and it may not be completely straightforward for some people. Everyone’s experience is different, but each student experiences stress in some way. The competition for grades, the high expectations, relationships, future career choices, and several other aspects found in the college environment, can lead to stress. Going to college requires changes in daily routine. This includes sleeping adjustments, eating habits, time-management skills, balancing of relationships and several other changes.
Generally speaking, college requires a lot more effort from students than high school. Once you begin your college career, you will see that student’s are more motivated, professors are more demanding, and the workload is a lot more difficult. These academic standards are even more visible in graduate school. Now, although college is filled with adventurous opportunities, it can also be filled with stress. In other words, as a result of everything going on, it’s more common for college students to experience higher levels of stress related to school, work, finance, and in some cases, relationships.
College has many rewards, but it also has a whole other side that is not talked about. Stress and college seem to go together with each other. Just deciding where you want to go can be a stressful event, never mind the stress from finals or mid-terms. I am going to discuss some of the effects of stress that students have to deal with from one semester to the next.
One topic in psychology I find particularly interesting is the amount of stress that students in this generation are subjected to, specifically while in college. There are many reasons why this topic is interesting to me. The first and obvious reason is because I myself am a college student. Therefore, I have personally experienced the tremendous amount of stress that is put on students. I have also witnessed my friends and peers cope with this stress in various ways, some of which are healthy and some of which are not. I also am interested in this topic because I feel that it is universally an important topic. With the job market being so competitive, and the need for advanced degrees becoming commonplace, students are constantly focused on
Stress is a reality that so many collage students coexist with in their everyday lives. But they do not need to. (Website) 85% of collage students reported that they had felt overwhelmed by everything they had to do at some point in the past year. Collage students do not need to tackle stress while trying to create the foundation of their future. (Same website) 30% of collage students reported that stress had negatively affected their academic performance. Preventing stress in collage life is crucial because it is derogatory towards academia success. There are many unique ways to reduce and prevents stress from overtake collage students life, things like fitness, meditation, and many small quarks that can be picked through
Stress is unavoidable, no matter the situation, location, or time; stress is always present. Stress is found in higher levels during the duration in which students attend college. It is predictably higher among college students, freshmans in particular, because of the extreme expectations set upon them by their parents and, of course, society. The need to please their parents, longing for success in life, and being able to sustain a reasonable income in the future, all of which falls into the hands of college students who are making critical decisions which may decide the outcome for a large portion of their lives. If these students end up hating their future jobs, the stress of having to go back into college to study for a new career
Like many of the questionnaires utilized for research in the articles used for this literature review, it was anonymous, and administered and collected during class. This form of data collection provided high turn in rates allowing researchers to have a wide study scale. According to Hicks, T., & Heastie, S., contrasting levels of stress and coping mechanisms were present in these students. It was noted that traditional college students experience more psychological stress than their nontraditional student counterparts. In addition, during the first year of college, the amount of stress experienced by students is the highest in comparison to stress in the remainder of the years. These results are especially important because it stresses the need for a strong health and wellness center within colleges and universities.
Stressor-strain theory posits that presentation to stressors can adversely affect people’s wellbeing, resulting in behavioral, physical especially imperative considering a few potential stressors are ascending for college students. For instance, college students are paying more for college than any time in recent memory (Fox, Spector & Miles, 2001; Spector, 1998, p.275). Moreover, the frequency and the severity of mental health problems reported by students are expanding and advancements in technology are changing the landscape of the typical college classroom, making the study of college students ' stressors a timely and imperative issue (Kitzrow, 2009). The motivation behind this paper is to review the findings of qualitative research examining college student stressors to understand the major categories of stressors confronting college students nowadays. While the stressors that affect students ' educational life are relationships with its sub-themes and the academics.
Around 18.2 million to 19.7 million students enroll in college every year. Whereas about 7,000 students drop out every day. Many students have different problems that make them decide between crosswords whether to stick to education or go a different route in life. There are many causes and effects due to the amount of stress college students go through daily. I know this because I've been a college student for about 3 months and experience stress almost every day. Three main causes why college students experience stress is because of academic stressors, social stressors, and daily hassles. Which leads to dropouts, weight issues, and unhealthy habits.
There isn’t a better, more comforting feeling, than coming home after a long, hard day at work or school and being welcomed at the door with a wagging tail, wet kisses, and an excited to see you face from your dog. For many, having any sort of interaction with a pet or animal is the ultimate cure to stress that is caused by work, people, and life. While not every college student is able to have a loving pet in their lives, even a momentary encounter with any animal can lower stress and anxiety levels. Multiple studies have proven that animals are a powerful form of stress relief by not only lowering blood pressure, but also lowering a dangerous stress hormone, cortisol, which is correlated with depression and anxiety. Interactions with animals have also proven to raise oxytocin levels, which are linked to pleasure, relaxation and happiness. Lowering stress and anxiety in college students will help them academically and socially throughout their college lives. College students will experience lower stress levels, a lower level of cortisol, and live a happier stress-free life by interacting with animals or pets throughout their time in college.
Stress is no new phenomenon. It’s been around as long as man and has captivated scholars and physicians alike. With the growing demand for degrees in the professional world comes the growth of the number of college students. The relationship between stress and college students has become the subject of on-going research. Several studies show that stress in college students is increasing with time and the authors of those studies are attributing this to an increased number of students. Other research seems to indicate that it isn’t necessarily the stress that is increasing but the awareness of it. Increased awareness of stress, and its unique toll on individuals, allows colleges and students to recognize
Over the years many studies have been conducted to determine what creates stress and how college students can cope with stress. Stressors in a student’s life can be created through personal, educational and social experiences. A student faces many experiences while transitioning from high school, to college, and into adulthood. These experiences include: living arrangements, personal finances, important career decisions, experiences of failure, interpersonal relationships, and personal finances. These stressors involved with daily hassles can create an unhealthy high pressure environment which makes stress for college students inevitable. During one study, researchers found that physical activity throughout a student’s life can increase one’s stress tolerance and positively cope with stressors (Bland, Melton, Bigham, & Welle, 2012).