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The International Journal of Indian Psychology ISSN 2348-5396 (e) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) Volume 3, Issue 3, No. 4, DIP: 18.01.068/ ISBN: 978-1-365-03420- http://www.ijip.in | April - June, 2016
© 2016 I N Veena, S Shastri; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Stress and Academic Performance
Veena N^1 *, Shailaja Shastri^2
ABSTRACT
The study was undertaken to identify the sources of stress among students of high and low academic performance. The questionnaire was administered on 656 pure science and applied science under graduate students from Bangalore city. Academic performance is referred to the end-term results in the previous semester. The tool used for the present study was Stressful Life Events Inventory - Student form (Rao, 1986). The findings of the study showed that majority of the students’ perceived education as more stressful. High and low academic performing students as well as pure and applied science course students differed significantly on sources of stress. Implications and suggestions of the study were discussed with teachers and an enrichment program on stress management was employed.
Keywords: Sources of stress, Academic performance, Pure and applied science.
A nything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is stress. Some stresses get us
going and they are good for us - without any stress at all many say our lives would be boring and would probably feel pointless. However, when the stresses undermine both our psychological and physical health, they are bad. Students are subjected to different kinds of stressors, such as the pressure of academics with an obligation to succeed, an uncertain future and difficulties of integrating into the system. The students also face social, emotional and physical and family problems which may affect their learning ability and academic performance (Fish & Nies 1996; Chew-Graham, Rogers, & Yassin 2003). Too much stress can cause physical and mental health problems, reduce students’ self-esteem and may also impinge on students academic performance (Silver & Glicken 1990; Niemi & Vainiomaki 1999). In recent years there is a growing appreciation of the stresses involved in education system. (Cited in Sreeramareddy et al., 2007). Sometimes parents, faculty and others tend to idealize their college experience and remember it as that idyllic time when they had few worries or responsibilities.
For students currently attending college, however, the process is often stressful and frustrating. The competition for grades, the need to perform well, relationships, career choices, and many
(^1) Assistant Professor, P.G. Department of Psychology, Jain University, Bangalore, Karnataka (^2) Professor and Head, P.G. Department of Psychology, Jain University, Bangalore, Karnataka *Responding Author
other aspects of the college environment cause stress. Before condemning stress outright, we need to understand that stress is only harmful when it is excessive. Much of the stress that we all experience is helpful and stimulating. The challenges of life tend to be stressful and an attempt to avoid stress completely would lead to a rather boring existence. The problem comes when you experience too much stress. Although some stress reactions are part of deeper and more serious emotional problems, many are not, and can be handled with relatively simple counseling and stress-management techniques. The lifetime prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among adolescents and young adults around the world is currently estimated to range from 5% to 70%, with an Indian study reporting no depression among college going adolescents. (Sahoo & Khess 2010).
Whitman et al., (1985) cites stressful events can be appraised by an individual as "challenging" or "threatening" (Lazarus 1966). When students appraise their education as a challenge, stress can bring them a sense of competence and an increased capacity to learn. When education is seen as a threat, however, stress can elicit feelings of helplessness and a foreboding sense of loss. A critical issue concerning stress among students is its effect on learning. The Yerkes-Dodson law (1908) postulates that individuals under low and high stress learn the least and that those under moderate stress learn the most. A field study and laboratory tests support the notion that excessive stress is harmful to students' performance. Some of the reasons why students perceive stress are time pressure and the need to perform well in the exams (Erkutlu & Chafra, 2006). Other reasons why stress can occur are the fear of academic failure (Kolko, 1980) too many assignments or the competitions with other students (Fairbrother & Warn 2003). Mainly the period before the exams is perceived as highly stressful by students (Nandamuri & Ch, 2011). Stress leads to a detrimental academic performance at the university (Sloboda, 1990). Bennett (2003) reports a similar finding in his study and points out that stress is significantly correlated with poor academic performance. Elias, Ping & Abdullah, (2011) mentioned that studies show that especially undergraduate students have to handle the possible negative effects of stress concerning their academic achievements. (Cited in Rucker 2012).
As cited in Pfeiffer (2001), there have been many studies (Schafer, 1996; Fisher, 1994; Altmaier, 1983; Greenberg & Valletutti, 1980), which have reported strong relationship between stress and college students. Some individuals are more sensitive to some stressors than others; so, the person’s characteristics and behavior patterns must be looked at to determine their importance and their vulnerability to stress. The experience of stress in humans is universal, but there are also marked individual differences in how stress is experienced. Stress has been known “to be the fuel the body uses to meet the challenges of our fast-paced modern life; for others, it is the aversive by-product of such a life” (Altmaier, 1983). Stress has been associated with major life events, daily life hassles, and changes in life. Stress is created by excessive environmental and internal demands that need constant effort and adjustment. One important factor to consider when researching stress is to explore which sources of stress are beneficial and which sources are detrimental (Ross et al., 1999). Some individuals are more sensitive or prone to some stressors
METHOD
Participants Participants comprised of 656 college students aged between 19-23 years. Three science undergraduate colleges and five engineering colleges in Bangalore city were considered for the present study. Among these participants, 48% were from pure science course and 52% were from applied science course. Boys constituted 47% and girls 53%. High academic performers constituted 38%, and low academic performers made up 22% of the total number of participants.
Tools The tool used for the study was stressful life events inventory (Student form), Rao (1986). It was open ended and consisted of 56 discrete events covering seven different areas of stress (Educational, heterosexual, family, financial, health, bereavement, and miscellaneous stress). Dimensions of desirability (positive, neutral and negative) and controllability (within and beyond control) were measured. The distress for each item experienced was rated on a 5 point scale from no distress (0) to severe distress (5). The reliability of the test using Cronbach’s alpha was 0.75. This scale was developed for college students in Indian context.
Socio Demographic Profile The data sheet was prepared to elicit information relevant to the study – age, education, gender, class, college and family income – from the respondent.
Procedure The researcher obtained the permission from the educational institution to collect the data from the students. Participants were recruited by class as a unit and groups of 35-40 students filled out the questionnaires. Prior to responding to the questionnaires, the consent form was filled and an interactive orientation briefing was organized with students regarding the purpose of the study and the need to answer all the questions frankly.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The present study investigated the sources of stress among pure and applied science course students (course differences), academic performance (high, average and low) and gender differences. Total fifty six stressors, divided into educational, heterosexual, family, financial, health, bereavement and miscellaneous were assessed in the current study. The responses of the students were analyzed to meet the objectives of the study. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to analyze the results.
Graph 1: Distribution of sources of stress among the respondents.
Graph 1 shows the results on different sources of stress among college students. The graph shows that the overall/total and educational stressor was reported as important source of stress. The mean total stress score among applied science discipline is 7.12 and pure science is 6.36, the overall stress score is 6.75, therefore it can be said that applied science/engineering students reported experiencing more stress as compared to their counterparts.
In the current study, appearing for examination, failing in examination, change of teacher was reported as important educational /academic stressor. As cited in Elias et al., 2011, Past research has also found sitting for examinations as a source of stress for students (Fan &Wang, 2001; Li & Lin, 2003), Brake in friendship, beginning a serious relationship was reported more under heterosexual stressor, changing house, family member leaving the house, mother started working was an important source of stress under family, borrowing the money, loosing important personal belonging was reported more under financial stressor, illness in the close family member, minor physical illness requiring few days off from college was reported as an source of health stressor, death of relative and pet was more under bereavement stressor, under miscellaneous stressor taking alcohol and smoking was reported as a source of stressor.
Zawawi et al., (2012) cites that stress are commonly noted among university students (Towbes & Cohen, 1996) as they are required to juggle many things at the same time including maintaining good results and adjusting to the new social environment. Towards the end of their study, other issues such as the need to land on good jobs adds to the existing ones, creating a higher level of
hypothesis is accepted, which states that there is a significant difference in educational, family, miscellaneous and overall sources of stress between high and low academic performing students. This finding is in line with the past researches (Elias et al., 2011; Choi, Abbott, Arthur & Hill, 2007; Rafidah, Azizah & Noraini, 2007). Bennett (2003) reported that stress is significantly correlated with poor academic performance. (Cited in Elias et al., 2011). Studies have found that exams, exam results, and studying for exams were among the highest causes of stress in students (Parisi 2011). Struthers and colleagues, as cited in Petroff (2008) found that stress inversely predicted course grades at the end of the academic year. High stress levels are associated with low academic achievement (Andrews & Wilding, 2004; Chemers et al., 2001). It is found that stress affects students’ academic achievement (Elliot et al., 2005; Choi, Abbott, Arthur & Hill, 2007; Talib & Rehman ,2012). Students complained of feeling stressed academically when it comes to facing exams and grade competition and having too much information to study yet insufficient time to master the knowledge (Carveth, Gesse & Moss, 1996). Kumari & Gartia (2012) found a positive correlation between stress and academic achievement. Kauts & Sharma (2009) found in their study that low-stress students performed better than high-stress students, meaning thereby that stress affects the students' performance. Stress is related to academic achievement (Bentley et al., 1980)
Testing of Hypothesis 2 Pure science and applied science course students do not differ significantly on sources of stress. To explore the significance of differences on sources of stress among pure science and applied science course students Mann Whitney U test was computed and the results are presented in Table 2. Table 2 Shows Descriptive statistics and Mann Whitney U test on sources of stress among pure and applied science course students.
Sources of stress
Course / Discipline Pure science (N=339) Applied science (N=317) P value Mean ± SD Educational 2.49±1.40 2.67± 1.57 0. Heterosexual 0.79±1.17 0.91±1.25 0. Family 0.68±1.16 0.76±1.18 0. Financial 1.07±1.34 1.18±1.27 0. Health 0.76±1.12 0.92±1.19 0.041** Bereavement 0.39±0.67 0.42±0.69 0. Miscellaneous 0.17±0.49 0.25±0.61 0. Total 6.36±4.91 7.12±4.99 0.018** ** p<.001 (Significant)
Table 2 shows the results of two groups who opted for two different courses (Pure and applied.) with regard to sources of stress. The results indicate a statistically significance difference in health and overall stress among pure science and applied science course students. It can be
inferred that applied science course students experience more stress compared to pure science course students. Hence we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis which states pure science and applied science course students differ significantly in sources of stress. The findings of this study are in consonance with the study conducted by Singh & Singh (2008). Womble (2003) in his study cites health-related factors like, nutrition, and amounts of sleep were found to have a great influence on students (Trockel et al, 2000). Stress associated with academic activities has been linked to various negative outcomes such as poor health (Greenberger, 1981; Lesko & Summerfield, 1989), depression (Aldwin &Greenberger, 1987), and poor academic performance (Clark & Rieker, 1986; Linn & Zeppa, 1984). For example, Lesko and Summerfield (1989) found a significant positive correlation between the incidence of illness and the number of exams and assignments. Similarly, Aldwin & Greenberger (1987) found that perceived academic stress was related to anxiety and depression in college students. (cited in Kamarudin et al., 2009). But Bataineh (2013) in his study found that there were no significant differences in academic stress among students with different, level of study and specializations.
Testing of Hypothesis 3 Boys and girls do not significantly differ on sources of stress. To explore the significance difference between gender and sources of stress, Mann Whitney U test was computed and the results are presented in Table 3. Table 3 Descriptive and Mann Whitney U test scores for sources of stress between boys and girls.
Sources of stress Boys (N=305)^ Girls (N=351)^ p value Mean ± SD Educational 2.97±1.54 2.24±1.36 0.000** Heterosexual 1.06±1.37 0.68±1.03 0.001** Family 0.84±1.24 0.62±1.10 0.001** Financial 1.35±1.38 0.94±1.20 0.000** Health 0.91±1.24 0.79±1.07 0. Bereavement 0.45±0.75 0.37±0.62 0. Miscellaneous 0.39±0.74 0.06±0.24 0.000** Total 7.96±5.49 5.70±4.18 0.000** ** p<.001 (Significant)
The results reveal that there is a significant difference in sources of stress among boys and girls. A similar trend of conflicting results has been found with investigation of stress and gender differences. Misra et al., 2004; Roddenberry, 2007; Acharya (2003) reported a significant gender difference in terms of stress. As cited in Petroff (2008) Dusselier and colleagues indicated that females perceived more stress than males and that personal behaviors and relationship conflicts contributed to stress. Sulaiman et al_._ (2009) found in their study that “female students have different stress compared to the male students. Gentley et al. (2007), results suggest that significant gender differences exist in the experience of stress (as cited in Calaguas 2011).
- The participants in this study were from middle to upper-middle class and upper class backgrounds residing in urban environment. Therefore these results can be generalized to similar population only.
- Only quantitative method is utilized.
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