My research on the major causes and effects of stress on college students is compiled at the request of The President of Strayer University. The purpose of presenting this research paper to senior administration is to help students have a more constructive college experience. Students starting their college careers consist of major adjustments to the daily routine; sleep patterns and eating habits, time-management skills, and stress levels are different in one way or another. The American Institute of Stress, compiled a 2008 mental health study by the Associated Press, stated that eight of ten college students stated that they have occasionally, or often experienced stress in their daily lives (AIS, 2014). A periodical article Tamar Levin of the New York Times indicates that the record level of stress found in college freshmen can be attributed to the recession and stress from the pressure of high school (Tamar, 2011).
The major causes and effects of stress on college students
College students habitually participate in multiple activities in and outside of school. This kind of multitasking habits places time management among the most common causes of stress in college students. Students develop these social stressors and either become too busy with their friends, studying for exams, or are not being able to organize their work and priorities. In addition to taking numerous classes per semester, they may also be managing part time employments, clandestine undertakings, volunteer work, and family accountabilities. Learning how to handle several concurrent responsibilities is always an excellent preparation for adulthood, and in turn cause added stress for many students. Time management is a major fact because once aga...
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...tudents Score Poorly in Basic Financial Literacy, Inceptia Survey Reports. Retrieved from Inceptia: https://www.inceptia.org/about/news/jan-22-2013
Mantak, F. (2014). Economic Stress. Retrieved from Brown University Health Education: http://brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/common_college_health_issues/economic_stress.php#9
Tamar, L. (2011, 01 26). Record Level of Stress Found in College Freshmen. The New York Times.
Trockel, M. T., Barnes, M. D., & Egget, D. L. (2000). Health-related variables and academic performance among first-year college students: Implications for sleep and other behaviors [Electronic version]. Journal of American College Health, 49, 125-140.
Warner, J. (2009). Freshman 15: College Weight Gain Is Real. Retrieved from WebMD Health: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090728/freshman-15-college-weight-gain-is-real
Imagine a student whose life is swamped with so many college classes and work duties that he or she must schedule some time to spend with family and friends. That is the situation that nontraditional college students go through every day of a school semester and still try to maintain a healthy family relationship. According to Jennifer Kohler Giancola and her colleagues, in an article titled “Dealing With the Stress of College: A Model for Adult Students,” Adult Education Quarterly, May 2009, “With an increase in nontraditional students attending college, there is a need to understand how work/school/life stress affects adult students” (246). Giancola and her colleagues’ statement are valid because nontraditional college students that work know how chaotic life is when multiple duties extend their entire schedule.
In the essay “College Pressures” by William Zinsser, Zinsser speaks about the pressures and anxiety that plague college students, all the while wishing that they had “a chance to savor each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step.” Referring to the 1979 generation of college students as “panicky to succeed”, he lists four of the following stressors for college students.
Study shows college students deal with high amounts of stress. The State News. N.p., 10 Feb. 2013. Web. The Web.
Stress comes from many areas of life especially as an adult student incorporating school at a time in life when family and work are paramount. “Adults just returning to school have substantially higher anxiety about school in general and writing in particular than younger students.”3 Stress, best described by its "synonyms: strain, pressure, (nervous) tension, worry, anxiety, trouble, difficultly"1 has a medical history "According to the American Psychological Association, the majority of office visits to the doctor involve stress-related complaints, and stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide."2 If managed, stress can be a way to inform me; learning how to recognize my level of stress capacity is important. The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory 5 http://www.stress.org/holmes-rahe-stress-inventory/ is a list of stressful events that contribute to illness. My personal score on this life stress inventory is 236; I fall in the category of about a fifty percent chance of a major health breakdown in the next...
Scheduling and planning are necessary to be successful as a working student. Setting time aside for school assignments is a priority, but it is also important to build in personal time for you, your family, and friends (Blais & Hayes, 2011). S...
National Health Ministries (2006). Stress & The College Student. The University of Illinois at Chicago. http://www.uic.edu/depts/wellctr/docs/Stress%20and%20the%20College%20Student.pdf
Research shows that sleep is a necessity in order for someone to be able to perform at their maximum potential. College students are no exception to the rule and are often at a greater risk to suffer from conditions that accompany sleep deprivation. Regardless of the time period, a college student must be well rested in order to perform at his or her best in terms of physical performance, memorization capabilities, and test-taking abilities. Also, without adequate sleep, the person will be more susceptible to illnesses, both mental and physical. In conclusion, I believe that sleep deprivation among college students is extremely common and has a direct effect on how well that student will perform or feel.
Driscoll, Emily. “Stress in College: What Causes it and How to Combat it.” Online posting. 31
College students face strenuous workloads daily, causing them to feel more pressure about their schoolwork and academics and resulting in anxiousness. About 50% of college students today are suffering from depression, a larger number than most believe, but not all reveal that they have a depressive issue (Deroma, Leach, Leverett 325). Researchers suggest that academic stress plays a big role in a college student’s depression. Most people know that college is a lot harder than high school ...
The problem of time management can be said to be universal not only affecting students but also other people in careers. This problem is seen to transition from a person’s life from different cadres of his or her engagement specifically from home, school and at work. It is also a problem that is internal and not external.
Everyone deals with stress at some point in his or her life. Most people deal with it daily. As defined in the book called Principles and Labs for Fitness and Wellness, stress is, “The mental, emotional, and physiological response of the body to any situation that is new, threatening, frightening, or exciting” (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2012). This stress is caused by a stressor, which is also known as “a stress-causing event” (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2012). Stressors can take all different forms, from moving to a new town, having a baby, or even writing a paper (Boyd, Wood, & Wood, 2011). One major stressor in life can be going to college. If not coped with properly, these stressors can leave a person with too much stress that could end up harming them mentally and physically, such as developing an illness (Boyd, Wood, & Wood, 2011). There are several ways to cope with stress. Some healthy ways to cope with stress would be practicing emotion-focused coping, building time-management techniques, and practicing meditation.
Driscoll, E. (2013) Stress in College: What Causes it and How to Combat it, FOX Business, 73(12)
Leaving home for the first time and going away for school can be very difficult for some people. In many cases for college freshmen this is their first time being away from their home and parents. Many times they get home sick and want to isolate themselves. They have to get into a new routine of going to school, and change can be very difficult. It is definitely hard to get into the swing of college. They have to navigate through classes in a new format while living away from all the comforts of parents. A college student’s life usually consists of attending classes, long hours of studying, working at a job (sometimes), and having a social life. Some students work at a job or study harder than others, but they are all trying to get degrees so maybe one day they will have meaningful and significant lives. It is a constant struggle for everyone who is trying desperately to make him or herself into a success. And every college student wants to be involved with something in order to further their education, or just have fun. There are lots of new opportunities out there. The struggle consists of demands on time, financial pressures, parental pressure and conflicts, interpersonal conflicts, managing freedom, peer and academic pressure and the transitional period to a new academic environment (Stanford University 4). All of these factors combined can cause emotional disturbances and one of the most common is stress.
Time management is one of the most crucial factors to college success for every student in college. Firstly, while living on campus, time usually isn’t an issue to students because they live on school grounds. There are many advantages that come with time and one of them is getting to class on time. However, this is actually the opposite for commuters because getting to class on time is quite a struggle. They have to struggle to wake up earlier than usual in order to use the public transportation. Students living on campus also have more access to on-site facilities because they don’t have to worry about going home so there is no time limit on how long they occupy these areas. An example is staying in the library because this is where you can get help from tutors on subjects you are struggling with. Also, they can use the writing center for as long as it is open without worrying about time. In contrast, commuters are limited to the use of these facilities because they have to take time into consideration while staying at the library or work...
Time management is not a new idea and many methods have been proposed regarding the best way to handle time management issues for business students. These suggestions can often be quite simple, such as writing down lists of things to do in order to support people in making good use of their time for work or recreational purposes. When time pressures are high, planning tasks and actions does not always lead to the completion of the work. It is in recognition of this that time management training programs have been designed, aiming to give an insight into the time required for activities, ways to make time plans, and increasing the efficiency of people by teaching them how to plan properly, how to prioritize tasks, and how to handle unexpected tasks. This is increasingly easy, particularly for students, as “books, articles, and time management training programs that were initially developed for managers have been made available to everyone”.(Claessens, Brigitte J.C. 2004).