College, Stress, and the Student

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College, Stress and the Student

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 areas of concern and work together to address, manage and control it.

College is a stressful time in anyone’s life but research has shown it to be more stressful to women than men. In a study of male and female graduate students, “females reported more stress than males in all areas” (Murphy and Archer 20). In addition to being female students, research has shown that mothers with young children experience significantly more stress than their fellow students. Malcom D. Hill, Ph.d, and Associate Professor of Sociology at Pennsylvania State University, studied older female students and found that most enjoyed the distraction that school brought from their everyday lives. “The only returnees who experienced serious stress, however, were those with very young children, which wasn’t surprising” (qtd. in Gutfeld and Munson). These women often have to arrange for child care, miss class due to sick children and must juggle caring for their children while still completing tasks on time. They often stay up l...

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...a Counseling Center. University of Florida, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.

"College Students Cite Stress as Key Factor in Academic Performance." Clinical Psychiatry News 37.12 Dec. (2009): 30. Gale Group. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.

Goldman, Cristin S., and Eugene H. Wong. "Stress and the College Student." Education 117.4 (1997): 604-10. Gale Group. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.

Gutfeld, Greg, and Marty Munson. "Making the Grade: Going Back to School May Ease Stress." Prevention Nov. 1993: 20. Gale Group. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.

Murphy, Michael C., and James Archer, Jr. "Stressors on the College Campus: A Comparison of 1985 and 1993." Journal of College Student Development 37.1 (1996): 20-28. Print.

Ross, Shannon E., Bradley C. Niebling, and Teresa M. Heckert. "Sources of Stress Among College Students." College Student Journal 33.2 June (1999): 312-15. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.

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