causes of stress in college students essay

Stress Among College Students: Causes, Effects and Overcomes Essay

Introduction, causes of stress in college students, effects of stress, overcoming stress, works cited.

Stress is a considerable problem in the modern society. People often experience high levels of stress due to being overwhelmed with a wide range of duties, such as work, studying, family duties, etc. In particular, college students are one group that is rather susceptible to stress, and can feel the adverse consequences of it very often (Brougham et al. 85); however, there are certain techniques that might help these learners overcome stress.

There are a number of causes of stress among college students (Lund et al. 127-129); according to Brougham et al., some of these causes include daily hassles, financial factors, and academic factors (90). The daily hassles that students are forced to deal with in the process of studying as identified by Brougham et al. are not directly related to college life; in fact, they include such problems as being stuck in traffic congestions, awakening too late in the morning, and the inability to find a place for parking (89). The financial causes of stress that college students are faced with include such issues as the need to pay one’s bills, the dearth of financial resources, and spending too much money when one should have not done so (Brougham et al. 89). Finally, the academic causes of stress, which are clearly specific to this population, include the need to write papers, especially final papers or assignments; worrying about the possibility to obtain low grades during an exam, or regret resulting from having received such; and difficulties related to the selection of one’s major (Brougham et al. 89). It is clear that students who are challenged with a large number of such stressors at the same time are more likely to develop a larger number of symptoms of stress, which have an adverse effect on these students’ ability to function effectively.

Due to stress, college students may experience such adverse outcomes as the decreased levels of cognitive functioning, the impaired ability to study, and, consequently, lower academic performance (Abdulghani et al. 516). First of all, the fact that a student is experiencing stress might have a considerable adverse effect on their ability to perform a wide range of cognitive functions, which are necessary for both proper social functioning and for participation in learning activities. Students who are stressed might feel too tired, not be able to think clearly, or unable to focus on the task at hand. Second, as a result of this, stressed learners may find themselves incapable of concentrating on learning activities and tasks, whether listening to a lecture, reading a book or article, or writing text.

Some students might also start feeling despair or experience depression, which creates further barriers for carrying out their academic duties. Finally, the inability to properly do the tasks related to learning results in decreased academic performance, leading to grades which are lower than those of learners who do not suffer from the symptoms of stress (Abdulghani et al. 517-520). It should be pointed out that the decreased academic performance, as has already been noted above, plays the role of a stressor as well, thus further impairing the learners’ ability to study. Therefore, apart from impairing the student’s ability to function, stress also accumulates and, to a certain degree, starts being the cause of itself.

Because of the serious impact of stress on the academic performance of college students, it might be recommended that students utilize coping strategies in order to decrease the level of stress (Jimenez et al. 444-447); one such strategy includes goal regulation (Neely et al. 88-89). Some authors state that goal regulation “consists of both the ability to disengage from goals that are unattainable and reengage in the pursuit of alternative goals” (qtd. in Neely et al. 89). There are a number of effects of this technique. First, a student who practices goal regulation is able to identify goals that are not attainable, and redirect their attention to aims that can be achieved in practice, which results in a more efficacious use of the temporal resources and the energy that a student possesses; consequently, students are less overwhelmed with tasks and thus may experience lower levels of stress.

Second, pursuing more concrete goals permits a student to direct their efforts towards these goals, thus considerably increasing their chance to achieve them; such an achievement can be viewed as a certain type of reward, thus increasing the student’s level of satisfaction and demonstrating them that they can achieve aims that they set. And finally, students who can disengage from pursuing unattainable and wasteful goals may be able to start “seeing the light at the end of the tunnel”; in practice, they experience fewer intrusive thoughts and lower levels of helplessness (Neely et al. 89). Therefore, goal regulation has a considerable potential as a method for overcoming stress, for it permits students to better distribute their resources, gain certain achievements, and stop feeling helpless.

Thus, college students often suffer from stress, which can have profoundly adverse effects on their lives; however, certain techniques might allow these people to overcome this problem (Caldwell et al. 433-435). Numerous issues cause stress in college students; these include daily hassles, financial and academic factors. Stress can impair students’ cognitive function, the ability to learn, and decrease their academic performance. However, goal regulation might help them to overcome stress. It should also be noted that this and other techniques for stress coping might be useful not only for college students but for other populations as well.

Abdulghani, Hamza M., et al. “Stress and Its Effects on Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study at a College of Medicine in Saudi Arabia.” Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition , vol. 29, no. 5, 2011, pp. 516-522.

Brougham, Ruby R., et al. “Stress, Sex Differences, and Coping Strategies Among College Students.” Current Psychology , vol. 28, 2009, pp. 85-97.

Caldwell, Karen, et al. “Developing Mindfulness in College Students Through Movement Based Courses: Effects on Self-Regulatory Self-Efficacy, Mood, Stress, and Sleep Quality.” Journal of American College Health , vol. 58, no. 5, 2010, pp. 433-442.

Jimenez, Cristobal, et al. “Stress and Health in Novice and Experienced Nursing Students.” Journal of Advanced Nursing , vol. 66, no. 2, 2010, pp. 442-455.

Lund, Hannah G., et al. “Sleep Patterns and Predictors of Disturbed Sleep in a Large Population of College Students.” Journal of Adolescent Health , vol. 46, 2010, pp. 124-132.

Neely, Michelle E., et al. “Self-Kindness When Facing Stress: The Role of Self-Compassion, Goal Regulation, and Support in College Students’ Well-Being.” Motivation and Emotion Journal , vol. 33, 2009, pp. 88-97.

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Home Essay Samples Education College Students

Understanding the Causes of Stress in College Students

Table of contents, academic pressure, financial concerns, social pressures, time management challenges.

• Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87(1), 49-74.
• American College Health Association. (2018). American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Fall 2018. American College Health Association.
• Chapell, M. S., Blanding, Z. B., Silverstein, M. E., Takahashi, M., Newman, B., Gubi, A., & McCann, N. (2005). Test anxiety and academic performance in undergraduate and graduate students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97(2), 268-274.
• El Ansari, W., Stock, C., & Mills, C. (2013). Is alcohol consumption associated with poor academic achievement in university students? International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 4(10), 1175-1188.
• Mokhtari, K., Reichard, C. A., & Gardner, A. (2009). The impact of internet and television use on the reading habits and practices of college students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(7), 609-619.

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Stress Among College Students: Causes, Effects and Overcomes Essay

1. introduction.

The essay "Stress Among College Students: Causes, Effects, and Overcomes" discusses the various aspects related to stress among college students. In the introduction, the definition of stress is provided, highlighting the importance of studying stress among college students. The structure of the essay is also outlined. The students who are in the phase of college feel stress due to different factors. It is imperative to have a clear understanding about the term stress. It is described in many different ways by variety of authors. Stress is a well known reaction in the body to a . Such changes release certain type of hormones which physically prepare the body to react in a particular way. We will write a custom essay specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page stress and tell about the importance of studying stress among college students. As well as we will give some idea about the causes of stress among the students. Main Body first of all, this essay will discuss about the definition of stress and give the main sources of stress among the college students. Even though the essay will furthermore provide an analysis of why students suffer from stress and give some solutions. from experts we can understand that stress is a stimulation of the body's neuroendocrine response, situational and a power that be life is organizing and familiar. It is part and parcel of our day today life. It is a result of tight work schedule. So many important works to do and a busy life, always running behind some overambitious goals. It is a fact that many students going to the colleges and universities feel much stress. Because of the such untold worries from their mind, students get very much stressed and in the end of the day such stress leads to variety of serious complications in many subjects. Well, stress depends, whom it affects as well. If it is affect to the ordinary people, good for nothing from them. People mainly try to talk less and work more. Most of the time they sit alone and sit idle. If it is affects to the professionals, allows to make penalty from their working places because of their undesirable performance and shortcomings and leads them to more and more stress. Most of the people do not about the stresses and it could be mental or physical. In the medical understanding, stress is a physical, mental, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. It could be external because of poor work, a undesired treat in working place, problems in personal relationship and also many other. On the other hand, added pressure that could be because of the illness or hostilities also caused the stress. Quotes: We may write a custom essay on Causes of Stress Among College Students specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page

1.1 Definition of stress

Stress is a biological term which refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined. It includes a state of alarm and adrenaline production, short-term resistance as a fight or flight mechanism, and exhaustion. Every human will experience stress at some points in his life; stress can be good; stress can be bad; if stress is too much or generated unwanted feelings, it would be negative. However, no single definition of stress has received universal agreement among researchers. "Not only is the nature of stress hard to grasp for many, but its very definition is still in the process of being grappled with as well" (Gross, 1998, p. III). There have been a number of theories over the years, and many of these have changed and developed as new research comes out to shed some light on the topic. However, one definition suggests that stress is a "psychophysiological response by which the individual perceives an imbalance between the requirements of a particular situation and the capabilities of that individual" (Palastanga, 2006, p. 428). It's quite a complex thing to define; stress is often a matter of personal interpretation and it very much depends on the particular situation. For example someone might feel stressed in one situation that another person could see as challenging and be excited about; we all respond differently to challenges in life. Nonetheless, this essay will mainly focus on the psychological and emotional effects of stress. Because the fact is, the body's reaction to stress is meant to protect us; however, chronic stress can lead to physical damage. For example, prolonged exposure to stress can lead to a buildup of cholesterol and the clogging of blood vessels. Also, a study from Life Sciences in the United States suggests that "psychological distress can lead to greater increases in morning cortisol levels, a major indicator of stress. We document this phenomenon over a three-year period" (Edwards, Hucklebridge, Clow, and Evans, 2014). Most importantly, many researchers and mental health professionals view major life stress as a precursor to serious illness, such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and other mental illnesses including severe depression and substance abuse. It is estimated that 1 in 20 Americans and 1 in 10 college students have been diagnosed with depression, which is characterized by prolonged periods of sadness that interferes with daily life. Also, the National Institute of Mental Health states that anxiety-related mental illnesses are the most common in the United States, affecting almost 40 million adults in the country. These facts clearly indicate the importance of studying stress among college students and the essay will seek to provide a general exploration of the physical and psychological effects of stress.

1.2 Importance of studying stress among college students

Nowadays, with the constant development of modern life, people live in a high-speed society. A variety of diversities, especially in technology, makes us in a position that we could not slow down even if we want to. This quickening pace consequently brings an increase in stress. Many people, regardless of outlook, age or socioeconomic status, always have to undergo at least one or two stressful events in their life. The situation in the United States is no different, where the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) reported that nearly one-third of college students had reported that stress has affected their academic performance. This finding is particularly important to understand and manage stress in college students to ensure a smooth adaption from high school to college and from college to the workforce. First and foremost, to study stress among college students is important as it imparts variation. It is a common phenomenon that every human has their own stress stimulus and it gradually generates around people. However, the factor for variation of stress is the way each person responds to it. In biological terms, stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. On the other hand, psychology describes stress as a condition that is both emotional and physical. As college students will encounter innumerable new experiences and will have to make many significant changes in lifestyle, understanding what contributes to students' stress is a crucial point for further prevention. In this case, the stress study will provide a detailed variety of stress and associate each with a specific stressor. Next, with the growing body of knowledge, psychologists can use it to develop different strategies to help students tolerate and adapt to college life and maintain their study progress when stress comes into play. Thanks to emerging technology, stress studies in college students use a better inventory to measure the students' stress. The commonly accepted stress inventory is the "Student Life Scale" which is provided by Hahn, Kamarck, and scholars. The survey was conducted with more than 50,000 students and found six major clusters of stress including "frustrations," "conflicts," "pressures," "change," "self-imposed," and "life events." With these results, expert help and counseling services could be better targeted to allow students to be self-reliant and maintain a healthy counseling service to cope with life stress. Last but not least, the stress study in college students will certainly benefit graduates. Due to the well-developed hallmark of stress pathway-related mechanisms at the time of college, the stress study findings have shown a clear relationship between stress and the development of many forms of mood illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorders, panic disorders, and anxiety disorders. This means that with a well understanding of how stress arises during college and how to adapt and control it, the health of the graduates will be monitored and taken care of.

1.3 Overview of the essay's structure

The essay is structured around the causes of stress on college students, the effects of the stress, and some possible solutions. So, chapter 2 and chapter 3 are addressing the first and the second main points. In Chapter 4, it will provide some solutions to the stress for college students. And those solutions will be specifically addressed in each reason. Also, an introduction is provided to give an overall guideline for the essay. In the introduction, the definition of stress is provided, highlighting the importance of studying stress among college students. The structure of the essay is also outlined. Overall, the essay provides an in-depth analysis of stress among college students, its causes, effects, and ways to overcome it. So, it is absolutely relevant and crucial to understand this complicated and unhappy sensation of the mind. And the essay will be informative, and provide a lot of information, such as introduction of the concept of stress, different opinions as well as the results, and the solutions about college students. Finally, an extensive and comprehensive study of stress among the college students would be successful. So it will make the reader be more interested in what is going to be discussed in the rest of the essay, since the college students who are under the pressure of the study would be one of the main targets. And thus it will give the reader a further understanding about the fact of the stress among the college students. And lastly, thesis and preview is provided. So the reader could understand and grasp a wide knowledge of this complex subject. And therefore a lot of questions could be answered to the reader. However, it seems that this preview is a little bit too long since it is repeated for 4 times in Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4. Lastly, a detailed and through analysis of the results of different studies is proposed. And it is parallel to the solutions of stress for college students.

2. Causes of stress among college students

Academic pressure is one of the main sources of stress among students. A certain level of stress and anxiety is normal when a student has to sit difficult tests, write university essays, and prepare complicated projects. However, when this stress becomes overwhelming, it can impair the ability of a student to perform well on these academic demands. A student under too much academic stress can also struggle to concentrate on his or her studies. This can further increase the level of stress, which in turn may lead to a vicious cycle whereby the student becomes less able to actually do the work that is causing the stress. This cycle can result in a student falling behind with their studies and can also become a problem for those needing to complete college scholarship applications. Academic stress comes in three main types, which are environmental, social, and internal. Environmental stress is a result of a student having a lack of resources, things not working properly, and sometimes due to things such as poor lighting and design within the learning environment. Social stress emerges when a student doesn't have a good relationship with peers or teachers, no support, and generally being away from home and struggling to fit in with others. Internal stress may arise from fear to fit in, self-doubt, and heavy personal criticism. All of these may amount to a general lack of motivation.

2.1 Academic pressure

Academic pressure refers to the stress and strain put on students by the continuous pressure of success in academics. This is one of the main causes of stress among university students. Because close analysis of each and every student's academic progress puts too much burden on them, as a result, they start feeling upset, frustrated, and lost in the academic race. And this continues to persist as a cause of stress in the life of the student. The reason why academic pressure is a cause of stress is because with the increased career options this generation has, parents and teachers have elevated the standards of expectation for students. And students presenting symptoms of stress, be it problematic behavior among young students or headaches and insomnia among adults, are often treated in the same way. This leads to parents and teachers ignoring the simple fact that every student has an individual capacity for success. And this, in turn, inhibits the student's ability to succeed and overcome the high expectations that are set on them. It is interesting to note that almost all the common stress-inducing factors for university students can be subdued by a proactive administration of student stress. But it is important to understand that treatment for such conditions needs to appropriately identify the cause. For example, many successful anxiety treatments, like prescription drugs, are designed to reduce chemical imbalances in the brain. However, if the symptoms of stress do not actually stem from a chemical source, these drugs could actually hinder the situation more than applying other forms of stress management. This makes it increasingly important for students and parents to take a proactive approach to maintaining mental and emotional health, as well as to consider the larger implications of assuming that stress must always have a single, identifiable cause.

2.2 Financial burden

In the recent years, the cost of college education is increasing, resulting in an overwhelming financial burden for college students. Many college students must juggle with the demands of working long hours while also trying to study in order to pay for school. It is reported that more than 70 percent of college students have to work in order to meet their financial demands of the family. "This can cause a life of chronic worry," says Dr. R. Morgan Griffin. "Students and families have to stretch their funds thinner and thinner, until it becomes a way of life" (Griffin). Not only does it affect the academic progress, but it also puts psychological impact on the student. Students who work long hours and still do not earn enough to cover necessities will feel constant worry. They will be likely to undergo a decrease in psychological well-being, such as an increase in depressive symptoms and lower satisfaction with life. The psychological well-being will be diminished if they work long hours and have less time to engage in enjoyable activities. Symptoms of depression that present as cognitive disturbances include "reduced ability to make decisions and slower cognitive processing speed," whereas those that present as somatic complaints include "headaches, impairments in the immune system and digestion" (Baer). These symptoms can further impede academic progress, leading to possible drop out due to the hardship in maintaining a certain academic level. Students that experience such hardships can become demoralized and experience a sense of being "burned out" (Clay). Also, the constant stress from work and academic studies will cause "wear and tear" on the body and can lead to chronic health problems. Dr. R. Morgan Griffin points out that, "what's worse is that the primary symptoms of stress are no fun either: depression, sleep deficiency, and eating disorders - not to mention the irritability and the absence of mind that can cause relationships to go south." In fact, work-related issues accounted for an estimated 65 percent of the suicides of college students in 2009. Finally, financial burden also "prohibits opportunities in learning and social experience" (Jackson). Students who work will have less time to involve in extracurricular and/or other learning experiences offered by the college, and we all know how important it can be. Also, without spending time on extracurricular and other on-campus activities, such as clubs, students will lose the opportunity to build social relationships and networks that may last a lifetime.

2.3 Social expectations

Next, social acknowledgment from our family and friends is another cause of stress among students. And sometimes, it becomes pretty difficult to manage the crisis that may lead to stress. Most of the students first become frustrated with the academic pressures. Next, the student hopes for a good salary that helps to pay off loans, and the job which will come with that salary. And finally, they begin to feel a sense of social acknowledgment. This is a continuous chain, where the student may feel frustrated and it becomes difficult to find solutions to deal with the academic stress. The reality is that the financial burdens can cause stress in students at any time. Consequently, these students are likely to develop a pessimistic approach to their own future and become vulnerable to the negative academic stresses. Because they have to work at the same time, and secondly they need to study, and the last goal is to finish their education to get a good job with a good salary. This creates a huge burden in students' lives. Students have lots of duties and have to manage their time adequately. Daily life becomes more difficult and complex. It is quite hard for the student to deal with emotional and physical stress if they do not have a purpose in life, due to the maladaptive lifestyle. Students should have determination and willpower when it comes to overcoming such critical times. Students have to balance their duties to family with other family responsibilities, including social obligations and family-related duties. Sometimes, fulfilling these expectations and responsibilities can become another cause of social load. If you are a student and feel a large amount of social load, then this may have an effect on your mental and physical health.

3. Effects of stress on college students

The effects of excessive stress among college students can damage their physical health. Many symptoms of somatic and medical illnesses are related to stress. Common stress-related physical health problems include sleeping problems, backaches, stomach problems, headache, and weight loss. College students affected by stress tend to consume excess fast foods and high-calorie food than recommended. Consequently, they may become overweight or obese. Students can protect themselves from obesity by using relaxation techniques, for instance, yoga and meditation, in order to reduce and manage stress in their lives. It is also found that perpetual stress in college students can affect the progress of a range of serious mental and emotional disorders. College students who have chronic stress may have thoughts of hurting themselves. Also, they become mentally ill and have to stay away from the public due to their abnormal behaviors. As a result, they can't concentrate on what they are doing, and this may worsen the academic performance. If stress is just another event, like your body and mental well begins from distress. Many college students experience stress as they adjust to the many changes in lifestyle and increased independence, such as new financial responsibilities and academic. The transition into the high school and being the elementary students for level is very critical were some age differences triggers the transitions as stressful. As students progress into the high school, they can look back at the trauma of being a freshman and what has been fulfilled themselves, and they become less stressful. The high school students can take some step, for example, eat and sleep in the right time, in order to reduce stress. First of all, if you eat healthily, it can help the stress entirely. And eating fast food is not as convenient as I can, students should be wanted. In fact, to make a living is usually a better way to overcome loneliness for the freshman. Second, effective time management can allow you to allocate your time according to what you want done. All work and no play means success and freedom. The most important thing is when job and responsibility are concerned, non-very pertinent disturbances must be shut down. When I am too stressed, I will be wanted to shut myself down from the noise from the TV, stereo, or even computer because work needs to be finished. Good time management will release students' life by the works. Third, students can make themselves silence stress by governing small aspects in life. For example, write a list and number the items in order of precedence, or make an amendment in some day task. In fact, pick up and learn to control by playing a musical instrument is one way to stress. On the other hand, students can seek friends and have fun. And this is the way of making a silence stress. Sharing the happiness with friends and enjoy. Last but not least, talk to someone and express feelings to others can release the pressure immediately. So, a friend is necessary, especially when life will go rough soon.

3.1 Physical health consequences

Stress affects the human body in many ways. Intuitively, we know that stress is tied to physical health - when we are stressed, we do not feel well. However, research has shown that the effects of stress on the body can in fact be quite severe - and just as important as the effects of stress on the mind. One physical effect of stress on the body is the constriction of blood vessels. When stress is constant, the increase in heart rate and the constriction of blood vessels can eventually weaken the heart muscle, and this is a primary risk for heart attack, hypertension, and other forms of heart disease. Common stress-related symptoms in the body include tension, headache, chest pain, muscle pain and fatigue, stomach upset, dizziness and sleeping problems. In fact, research on college students in the United States indicated that students who felt stressed had an increase in the frequency and severity of ailments of the mouth, musculoskeletal and skin every year. Over time the student medical office visits for those students increased sharply by 29% during a period of four years. We can see stress has significant effect on the body, Vietnam has conducted its research on the impacts of stress on the body as well: the unexplained aches and pains, back pain, stomach problems and headaches. Vietnam's workers may also suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke (Vietnam National Heart Program, 2004). The researcher is not surprised on the findings because chronic stress impairs the body's ability to fight off infections as indicated by research also reported in Vietnam by the Ministry of Health in 2004. Every person may experience stress in a different way. However, common signs to indicate the effect of stress on the body include an aching jaw, clenched fists, dizziness, dry mouth, fast heartbeat, fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, indigestion, irregular menstrual cycle, light-headedness, muscle tension, nervous twitches, pins and needles and rapid breathing. Every effort has been made to identify the true owner of work used in this instance for the purpose of 'acknowledgment to the owner of copyright material'. If you are the owner of copyright material used by this service and object to the use of this material, please contact the service and your request will be respected. Every reasonable effort has been made to contact the true copyright owner of material used by this service. Kindly notify the service and your request will be respected and promptly acted upon the receipt of genuine objections. Thank you for your understanding.

3.2 Mental health consequences

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community (World Health Organization, 2014). The most common mental health problems reported (that is, depression, generalized anxiety, and panic disorder) since beginning university or college have been noted to be stress and lack of sleep. There are more individual long-term effects that could occur, such as chronic stress and associated with it. With this, we have been noticing the signs of student stress changing drastically and also increasing over the year. Impacts of physical health on academic performance: Some physical health problems can impact your academic performance and might mean you're entitled to extra help. If you have a pre-existing health condition, disability, or sensory impairment that is impacting your academic work, don't suffer in silence. You should register with the disability service at your university or college. As well as dealing with the problem causing your health issue, don't forget to tell people around you what you need and look after yourself. Also, don't forget to make use of your institution's health and wellbeing services where needed. These could be your first step to restore your health before impacting your study, as they offer advice and support for a whole range of issues. For example, services might include counseling, stress management and relaxation sessions, or structured support for certain conditions.

3.3 Impacts on academic performance

Stress on college students can affect many different aspects of their academic performance. It can cause students to perform poorly at a very high level and also reduce students' capacity to grow, develop, and achieve to their fullest potential. Many students deal with stress in college which can be a significant factor that impairs their academic performance. I can say from my own experiences as a college student as well as a high school student that I am one of those people who can be so stressed out and can't find a way to overcome the stress. I am always studying and working hard, but I never find a way to release my stress. I want to be involved in so many activities and organizations but I just can't find the time to do these things because all I ever do is work. If students are experiencing stress and it impacts their academic performance, there are also symptoms that appear. These symptoms include many different signs such as fatigue, fidgeting, withdrawal from activities, changes in eating habits, and insomnia. All of these signs can lead to a decline in academic performance. Insomnia is a major problem among students, according to an article on classbrain.com. "About 78% of college students obtained less sleep than what a person needs in order to stay alert and awake." Insomnia can depend on a person's body and metabolism. However, it has been proven that a loss of sleep can decrease concentration and has severe effect on a person's nervous system. Also, a recent survey suggested that such high technological means as the internet created an increase in the average sleep deprivation by 20% of the men and 10% of the women in the study. Because of the internet and high technology, the quality of sleep has diminished.

4. Overcoming stress among college students

Every college student, no matter how well adjusted they seem, will have to deal with stress at some point. While some students are able to cope with stress, others succumb to the pressure - often in the form of an anxiety or depressive disorder. As mentioned in Sp 18 and Smith 13, the causes of stress among college students are too vast to easily pin down. However, in the same papers, some notable risk factors such as a reduced effect in education, changed nutrition and social activity - especially towards antisocial activity - are mentioned. If one can manage to find a balance between healthy social and educational life, they have a better chance of reducing stress. This balance helps one own life manner and career life both. With a vast amount of work, requirements, class, tests, people and social life put on students, at some stage in everyone's studies, it is likely that people to discover a mental health concern. This is clearly apparent in findings by the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This department reports that 30 percent of college students reported feeling depressed which affected their ability to function. Also, the same department stated that 85 percent of students felt overwhelmed by everything they had to do. This proves that the mental health issue, especially stress, is certainly something significant, and cannot be ignored as something under control. The above statistical evidence shows that stress is a very serious problem and may lead to health repercussions like depression, because of people's concern in maintaining a high quality life and balance. Stress is a reality in college graduation life. However, with practice, at some stage it is more likely that you can find methods to manage it. The page talks about ways that one can manage the stress and eventually work towards a more balanced life. In one paper, Engle, a professor in Psychology at Stockton University, suggested that if some of the workout time was spent in nature, such as hiking or even a simple walk, the body and the mind can greatly benefit in reducing stress and depression. Hiking has a plethora of both physical and mental perks. Disconnecting from the world - the social media and usual surroundings - helps decrease anxiety. Also, the mind gets a workout on where to place things; however, that is taken away and the walking becomes a more calming experience. Lastly, there is the fresh air and scenery that helps lift the spirits. Combining this natural life with even a short walk every day can make a world of difference.

4.1 Time management strategies

Many students struggle with effective time management and would benefit from structured study sessions and learning when, how, and what to study. Many students' time is eaten up by an endless stream of social engagements and activities. Unless students know how to successfully manage time, the effects of stress can have serious long-term consequences on their mental and physical health. However, effective time management can produce more productivity and better assessment results. There are several time management strategies that may help to overcome stress among college students. One of those strategies is setting a specific and reasonable study goal for the day and creating a study schedule. Moreover, it is suggested by Wallender and Wills (2002) that students should manage their time by maintaining perspective, keeping the environment organized, avoiding perfectionism, breaking larger tasks into smaller ones, and scheduling the most challenging courses and the most difficult study times during peak concentration hours. Apart from that, students need to prioritize tasks by using the ABC method in which A stands for tasks that are most important, B stands for tasks that are less important than A, and C stands for tasks that are least important. This is important because it enables students to focus on the most important tasks and not spend time on less essential tasks to achieve a certain balance in life. Also, students should learn how to avoid time robbers, according to Wallender and Wills (2002). It involves setting up a time log to track down the time robbers, analyzing how time has been used, and making acceptable changes to time usage patterns. In their study, for example, they should also avoid procrastination as it is avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished. By simply facing the tasks and completing it right away—even starting with small accomplishments—students may reduce the stress from that task. Last but not least, students should have the courage to say 'no' as it means a time management skill. The good practice of refusing additional tasks can help to enhance a sense of control and reduce the high stress levels. Students should learn to say 'no' to those activities that are less important to them and learn not to feel guilty about it.

4.2 Seeking support from friends and family

When students sense a drop in their stress, either through time management, preparing for exams, and check-ups, taking some downtime will not only refresh the body by improving creativity and focus, but give the mind a chance to work on the riddles of life unconsciously. It is important that the person regularly engages in some form of relaxation. Additionally, and even more importantly, in the struggle to fend off the negative effects of stress, the thing which strengthens the body's physical, emotional, and mental reserves the most is actually positive social interaction. Unfortunately, when people are feeling stressed, they tend to turn to alcohol, tobacco or even drugs in the hope that they can avoid the stress. When stress is starting to mount up and this is happening, it is seen as a signal from the body which is indicating a need to look for healthy stress relievers. Also, there are other physiological benefits to be gained from seeking support. Studies have shown that a sudden burst of stress is often accompanied by an increased tendency for blood to clot. As a result, over a long period of time, chronic stress can lead to a range of heart and blood vessel related illnesses, stroke, and high blood pressure. However, an individual does not have to join a support group or seek therapy in order to benefit from attention people offer each other. Friends and family members might offer the best first line of support. And not only is the effect of such support immediate, but it is possible for the person to benefit from it in the long-term too. Research has shown that this is due to the fact that social bonding and caring behavior not only helps people to draw a sense of strength from each other, but it actually enhances the physical aspect of the body's defense system as it is because dopamine is released by the brain when the body is in proximity with others. Dopamine is a chemical that is associated with pleasure and can help put the brakes on the stress system of the body. In contrast to this, people are starting to become more aware of the long-term disability which can result from merely suppressing or avoiding stressful situations. Unfortunately, it has frequently become a normal part of many people's lives to encounter a constant stream of stress and this has led to the presence of many health problems around the world. In the modern world, the only options are to curb the typical sources of stress or improve the body's ability to work against stress. However, the body will struggle through innumerable demands in this life, if it can learn to use stress in a positive and intelligent way, then there will be a far stronger chance for not only surviving, but also to a certain extent, thrive on challenges. It is always encouraged that individuals who face these situations should seek support from professionals. Also, people are becoming more aware of the harmful impacts of using tobacco, alcohol and drugs when stress occurs, but it is a matter of walking another path. Close relationships in one's family and friends can take the edge off of stress. The conclusion that stress should be reduced and not avoidable can be drawn from the afore-mentioned.

4.3 Utilizing campus resources

A major suggestion for overcoming stress among college students is to utilize campus resources. The college campus is designed to provide students with academic as well as extracurricular support. Academic advisors are assigned to students to provide assistance in course selection and academic progression. Tutors are available in a wide variety of subjects to help students maintain strong GPAs, and these tutors can be found through the campus learning center. Most college campuses have a health center on site - these facilities can assist students in managing their physical and mental health. Some campuses also have an on-site pharmacy. Another important resource available on college campuses are counselors. Whether the stress is due to a class, a relationship, or finances, learning how to manage that stress is important. A professional counselor can help develop unique coping skills for individual students. It is recommended that students begin with making an appointment with an academic advisor. Academic advisors can help students manage course loads, adjust class schedules, and locate tutoring resources. Also, an academic advisor can be a useful guide in suggesting mental health and wellness resources. After meeting with an academic advisor, students should next find a tutor for each class in which assistance is needed. Students typically have access to a variety of academic resources. For instance, students may have access to an English tutor for help in writing papers or access to a math tutor if enrolled in a mathematics course. A big success for students when trying to overcome stress is to understand that help is available, even if they are on their own away from home for the first time. Learning to seek out professionals and academic resources can assist in not only successfully overcoming stress but also developing life skills that can be utilized well beyond the college years. Students should never be afraid or ashamed to reach out and utilize the resources that are available on their college campus.

4.4 Adopting healthy coping mechanisms

When feeling stressed, many people think about wanting to find a way to reduce that stress. However, some people find it hard to figure out how to do that. In many instances, these people often turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms because that is all they know. Unhealthy coping mechanisms can be a whole list of different things. From self-harm to emotional eating, these symptom-coping strategies can only lead to feelings of failure, an increase in unhealthy coping mechanisms, and an increase in physical and emotional health issues. That's why it is so important to begin finding and then using the healthy coping mechanisms by replacing the old unhealthy ways of coping with the new healthy ways. According to an article titled "Coping Mechanism" that was found on the website www.e-buddhism.com, the author can help to show a reader how to go about finding and then using healthy coping mechanisms. He or she states that "unhealthy coping mechanisms are like a habit. They are the ways that we have taught ourselves to deal with feelings of failure, pain, frustration, or other difficulties. Also, if we have been using a certain unhealthy way of coping for a long time, it can become almost second nature to turn to that means of dealing with things, because it is what we are used to". In addition, the author states that unhealthy coping mechanisms "often only serve to make us feel more stressed than we did in the first place. They can also make us more likely to develop physical and mental health issues due to the increase in unhealthy coping methods that we have been using and the added impact of the stress". However, it is also necessary to understand the researcher's findings on unhealthy coping mechanisms, as stated in an article titled "Stress Management Tips" that was found on www.holistic-online.com. The researcher states that "we use many different coping mechanisms to deal with stress. However, most of them can be divided into two categories: many coping mechanisms or symptom-coping methods and health or action coping methods". According to these papers, many coping mechanisms, or unhealthy coping mechanisms, refer to our attempts to prevent the awareness of threat to the self. In this case, unhealthy coping mechanisms can be seen as a way to protect the person from having to think about the thing that is causing the anxiety or anxiety. On the other hand, health or active coping mechanisms involve "one realizing that they have a choice in their reality, accepting that pain and stress are in the world and looking for a method to solve in actively". Therefore, the papers stress healthy coping mechanisms because "these have been shown to be the most effective over time".

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• ACADEMIC ADVICE

The Effects of Stress on College Students & Ways to Overcome it

• June 1, 2022

Table of Contents

What is academic stress, physical effects of stress, psychological effects of stress, relationships or lack of friends, homesickness, tips to overcome stress during college, avoid procrastinating, on-campus mental health services, off-campus centers and hotlines.

We have all heard at least one person being nostalgic about the great time they had in college. And it’s true. Being on your own for the first time ever, pursuing a degree, meeting new people, and living in a new city can give you a new purpose and perspective in life. But we also have to admit that college can be stressful too. While all these great new opportunities might be a dream come true for some, they can be overwhelming for many others. And this overwhelming feeling might go away when you get settled in after a week or might stick around in the form of academic stress.

To understand academic stress, we first need to understand what the term “stress” really means. In simple terms, stress refers to a distressed state of mind caused by various factors. Mental stress manifests differently based on the person or level of stress.

Now that we have clarified what “stress” is, it will be pretty easy to understand what academic stress is. We use the term “academic stress” to refer to the kind of psychological distress caused by factors pertaining to one’s academic performance. The stressors that cause academic stress vary depending on the student, but they all have in common the fear of failure in some way or another.

How Stress Affects College Students & Their Mental Health

While virtually everyone has experienced stress at some point in their lives, its intensity and the way we deal with it differs with every person. For some people, it’s just jitters before a presentation, and that’s it, but for others who don’t know how to deal with or manage it, stress can be a serious problem in their everyday lives. High levels of stress concerning academic performance have a negative impact on one’s mental and physical health. Ironically, academic stress also negatively affects a student’s academic performance.

Though we have stated that stress is related to the mind, you may easily detect someone with higher stress levels due to the physical manifestations of academic stress. While physically, the signs of stress may differ from person to person, there are some more prevalent physical symptoms among students:

Muscle pain & headache

Many of us usually attribute headaches and muscle pain to factors such as dehydration, physical activity, etc. The truth is that muscle pain and headaches are also widespread symptoms of academic stress. When you are stressed, muscles in your body tense up; and when these muscles are tensed for a more extended period, it results in aches and pains in your body.

Nausea & stomach aches

Other common symptoms of academic stress in students include stomach aches and digestive issues like diarrhea or constipation. In even more extreme cases, academic stress manifests itself in the form of nausea and vomiting.

As we have already established, academic stress originates from the need to perform well academically for various reasons. The fear of failure in academic challenges can seriously strain students psychologically. Here are some of the most prevalent psychological symptoms that derive from academic stress:

Anxiety & depression

It is no news that academic stress can worsen symptoms for those that already have an anxiety disorder or depression. According to a survey conducted by the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) , 30% of students admitted that stress had a negative impact on their academic performance .

Sleep disorder

High levels of stress can disrupt your sleep schedule or quality. Whether in quantity or quality, less sleep pushes the body to produce more stress hormones like cortisol. And while it is normal for the body to produce cortisol, this particular hormone negatively affects your memory, metabolic rate, and blood glucose regulation when at high levels. This, in turn, will put a student on a vicious cycle where academic stress negatively affects your sleep, and the lack of sleep negatively affects your academic performance.

Causes of Stress During College

Academic stress may affect students of all educational levels, one way or another: whether they are performing in front of an audience, entering an exam, or some other way. However, it is essential to note that college students have some additional stressors that set them apart from students of other levels of education. College students experience stress due to external or internal factors. Here are some of the most common stress-causing factors in college students:

There are a few reasons why some people choose not to pursue a college degree, and the cost of tuition is one of them. Many of those who enroll in college have problems making ends meet due to tuition and other college-related expenses. Simultaneously working and studying can put a strain on the mental health of many students as they try to balance personal, academic, and work life. One possible solution to this problem may be to apply for scholarships, grants, or even loans.

One of the main challenges for many college students is actually making time for themselves or socializing with others. This is especially difficult when they need to work to be able to afford college. Lack of quality time with friends or absence of a social life altogether has a negative effect on a student’s mental health as there is virtually no time to “recharge.”

Think about this: One day, you are a carefree 17-year-old, eating home-cooked meals every day and having the best time of your life in high school. A few months later, you are legally an adult, getting your first job and probably moving thousands of miles away from everything you have ever known to go to college. Even the mere thought of such a transition is enough to stress you out. College students are now far away from their families and responsible for everything that concerns their own lives.

The transition from high school to college can be tough on many students for various reasons. One of the main stressors for college students is the coursework. Students usually struggle to meet deadlines or handle the increased workload that comes with enrolling in college.

Ending the Stigma

The best thing to do in order to help students deal with academic stress is to end the stigma. This can be done by spreading awareness of the effects of academic stress on students’ mental, physical, and emotional health. Only by continually and persistently addressing this issue and educating each other can we overcome or at least learn how to manage academic stress.

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If you or someone you know are experiencing academic stress and its adverse effects on your mental and physical health and your academic performance, it is time to take action . Learning what to do to prevent becoming stressed due to academic workload or even how to manage your academic stress is extremely important for many reasons we have already discussed. Here are some tips on how to overcome academic stress when in college:

Maintain a healthy diet

A healthy diet is a well-balanced diet that includes vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and a regular eating schedule and daily exercise. While maintaining a healthy diet should be a priority for everyone, a healthy diet can also help with overcoming academic stress. Eating healthy will keep your blood pressure and glucose stable, both of which may fluctuate when a person is in a stressful situation. While many students make it a habit of drinking caffeinated drinks to stay focused on their studies, it is best to opt for water or milk. This is because caffeinated drinks raise cortisol levels in the body, similar to what stress does.

Remain physically active

Being physically active does not mean you need to be all closed up in a gym sweating away. Any sport or physical activity counts as exercise as long as it increases your heart rate. When exercising or taking part in physical activity, your body releases hormones (endorphins) that, among other benefits, reduce stress.

Make sure you spend time outdoors

Sometimes just being in a room by yourself you will associate with stress and anxiety and hence stress out. College students can also deal with academic stress by spending time outdoors. Leaving your dorm room or library and simply going outside for a walk can do wonders for your focus. Being surrounded by nature and greenery significantly reduces your cortisol levels.

The change in workload is one of the leading causes of academic stress in college students. By learning how to manage your time better, you make sure to always meet your deadlines. By avoiding procrastination, you spread out the workload, so you don’t have to worry about working under pressure when the deadlines approach.

Seeking Medical Support

While totally manageable for a lot of people, academic stress can have powerful adverse effects on others. Some of the negative effects of academic stress may be too exhausting to deal with on your own. That is why it is always essential to know places to seek help if needed:

Lately, there has been an increase in awareness surrounding mental health issues, including academic stress. That is why many institutions offer on-campus health services for their students. You can learn more about these services by visiting your college’s website.

If you feel that on-campus mental health services won’t do for you personally, you can always seek help in off-campus centers. Another great source that offers support is the hotlines available 24/7. Check the number for suicide prevention lifelines to consult with specialists on anything you might be dealing with, including anxiety, depression, stress, etc. You can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 .

Though there has been some progress in awareness regarding mental health, specifically the effects of stress on mental and physical health, there is still so much to do. There are a few steps students can take to better deal with academic pressure, like eating healthy, exercising, managing their time better, consulting with loved ones and specialists, etc. As academic stress can have serious negative effects on one’s health, everyone should take it seriously and work towards overcoming it the best they can.

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The Effect of Mindset Interventions on Stress and Academic Motivation in College Students

• Open access
• Published: 10 April 2024

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• Heidi H. Meyer 1 &
• Lauren A. Stutts   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5014-1907 1  

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Stress levels are high among college students in the United States. Growth mindset and stress-is-enhancing mindset interventions offer ways to reduce stress, but minimal research has examined them. This study’s aim was to examine the effect of mindset interventions on mindsets, stress, academic motivation, and responses to hypothetical academic scenarios. Participants included 210 college students who were randomized to one of four groups: growth mindset (intelligence is malleable), stress mindset (stress is beneficial), synergistic (intelligence is malleable, and stress is beneficial), or control (brain functions). The growth mindset and the synergistic mindset group increased in growth mindset, and the growth mindset group had higher growth mindset than the stress mindset and control group post-intervention. The stress mindset and the synergistic group increased in stress-is-enhancing mindset, and both groups had higher stress-is-enhancing mindsets than the growth mindset and control group post-intervention. All groups decreased in stress and increased in academic motivation. The synergistic group was the only group to improve on all the main outcomes, and students in this group were less likely to want to withdraw from a course in both negative hypothetical academic scenarios (if they failed an assignment or were faced with a professor with a fixed mindset). Our findings suggest that students would benefit from increased access to mindset interventions.

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The American College Health Association ( 2022 ) reported that approximately 50% of college students in the United States (U.S.) reported experiencing a moderate level of stress, and approximately 30% of students reported experiencing a high level of stress. Stress has been found to be strongly associated with psychological disorders (e.g., depression) and suicidality in college students (Liu et al., 2019 ). Therefore, it is critical to examine what factors are related to stress and how stress can be reduced.

One key factor that influences stress and resilience is one’s mindset (Yeager & Dweck, 2012 ). Mindsets are defined as one’s implicit theories about the flexibility of characteristics such as intelligence. There are two main types of mindsets regarding intelligence: growth and fixed (Dweck & Leggett, 1988 ). A growth mindset believes intelligence can be improved through effort, while a fixed mindset believes that intelligence is set and cannot change despite someone’s effort. Individuals are theorized to be on a continuum between these two mindsets. A meta-analysis found that growth mindsets are negatively correlated with psychological distress and positively correlated with active coping (Burnette et al., 2020 ). This association may be because a growth mindset buffers against maladaptive cognitions that can lead to maladaptive coping and/or adverse psychological outcomes.

A growth mindset is a skill that can be learned through interventions. For example, Smith and Capuzzi ( 2019 ) examined the effect of a single-session growth mindset intervention on anxiety and grades for U.S. college students in a statistics class (Smith & Capuzzi, 2019 ). They randomly assigned students to either a growth mindset intervention (e.g., a 75-minute interactive class session with exercises) or a control group (no intervention). They measured the students’ mindset and anxiety level at baseline and six months after completing the intervention. They found that students in the intervention group had an increased growth mindset, whereas mindset did not change in the control group. While they did not find significant changes in anxiety in either group, they found that a higher growth mindset was associated with lower anxiety and a higher course grade. Another study found that a single-session growth mindset intervention reduced depressive symptoms in U.S. adolescent girls four months after the intervention (Heaman et al., 2023 ).

Furthermore, a growth mindset is related to positive educational outcomes. A meta-analysis across 10 studies concluded that teaching students about a growth mindset increases their motivation and achievement (Sarrasin et al., 2018 ). For example, one study randomized adolescents in the U.S. to a growth mindset group (8-session intervention with information about the brain and growth mindset) or a control group (8-session intervention with information about the brain) (Blackwell et al., 2007 ). Students in the growth mindset group had significantly more positive change in classroom motivation three weeks after the intervention than the control group.

While a growth mindset is associated with lower stress (Burnette et al., 2020 ), two mindsets directly related to stress have been studied as well: stress-is-enhancing and stress-is-debilitating (Crum et al., 2013 ). A stress-is-enhancing mindset views stress as beneficial, whereas a stress-is-debilitating mindset views stress as harmful (Crum et al., 2013 ). Similar to growth and fixed mindsets, individuals are thought to be on a continuum between these two mindsets. Keech et al. ( 2018 ) found that having a stress-is-enhancing mindset was negatively correlated with perceived stress and was positively correlated with proactive behavior. Another study found that a stress-is-enhancing mindset served as a moderator between perceived stress and depressive symptoms in U.S. college students (Huebschmann & Sheets, 2020 ). The stress mindset is theorized to be beneficial in part because it changes how one psychologically experiences stress and how one behaviorally copes with stress (Crum et al., 2013 ).

Similar to a growth mindset, a stress-is-enhancing mindset can be developed through interventions. For example, one study with Australian university students found significant benefits of a stress mindset intervention (Keech et al., 2021 ). Students were randomized to one of two groups: an intervention group who watched videos about the consequences and benefits of stress and completed mental imagery tasks applying the benefits of stress in their own lives (one session of an unspecified length of time), or a control group who completed a mental imagery task unrelated to reframing stress. Two weeks after the intervention, the intervention group increased in stress-is-enhancing mindset from pre- to post-intervention and had a higher stress-is-enhancing mindset than the control group. In participants with high perceived stress, those in the intervention group also had lower distress and more proactive behavior than the control group. Another study using college students in the U.K. found that short videos about the stress-is-enhancing mindset was effective in increasing the stress-is-enhancing mindset immediately after the intervention (Williams & Ginty, 2023 ). However, no previous studies to our knowledge have examined the effect of a stress-is-enhancing intervention on academic motivation.

Yeager et al. ( 2022 ) proposed a mindset that combines the growth mindset and stress-is-enhancing mindset, which they called a synergistic mindset. They created a single-session 30-minute online module that contained information and exercises related to improving both mindsets. In a sample of U.S. college students, they found that this synergistic mindset intervention was more effective than a growth mindset intervention alone, a stress-is-enhancing mindset intervention alone, or a control intervention (learned about brain functions) in reducing cardiovascular reactivity when experiencing a social stressor shortly after the intervention (Yeager et al., 2022 ). In another sample of college students who received the intervention, they found that students made less negative stress appraisals about a quiz one to three days after the intervention and three weeks afterward (Yeager et al., 2022 ).

Having single-session interventions can be valuable as they are time- and cost-effective, but it’s important that they have lasting effects. A meta-analysis on single-session interventions on psychiatric problems in adolescents found that the interventions had the highest effect size for lasting effects on anxiety, which is similar to the present study’s focus on stress in young adults (Schleider & Weisz, 2017 ). Another study specifically examined the longitudinal effects of a single-session synergistic mindset intervention (Hecht et al., 2023 ). At the beginning of the semester, U.S. college students were randomly assigned to receive a 30-minute synergistic mindset or a control intervention (lesson about the brain). Subsequently, half of the students in each group received four 5-minute supportive messages related to the synergistic mindset whereas the other half received 5-minute neutral messages about assessing their learning progress periodically over the remainder of the semester (15-week semester). They found that the synergistic mindset intervention was effective in reducing fixed mindset beliefs and increasing stress-is-enhancing beliefs immediately after the intervention and at 3-weeks post-intervention similar to previous findings (Yeager et al., 2022 ); however, they found that receiving brief continued supportive messages made the initial intervention’s effects stronger over time (Hecht et al., 2023 ). Overall, single-session interventions are promising low-cost, accessible options that need further exploration.

Present Study

The present study is novel in two main ways. First, we examined the impact of mindset interventions on academic motivation and on responses to hypothetical academic scenarios to examine how mindsets could affect one’s potential behaviors, which has not been explored previously to our knowledge. Second, we assessed the efficacy of a shorter and simpler intervention (5 to 10 min) than was used previously (Yeager et al., 2022 ), which could make the intervention even more accessible for students.

Our main study aim was to assess the effect of mindset interventions on growth mindset, stress-is-enhancing mindset, stress, and academic motivation. We randomly assigned participants to one of four groups: growth mindset, stress mindset, synergistic mindset, or control. Participants’ growth mindset, stress-is-enhancing mindset, stress, and academic motivation were measured before and after the intervention. We hypothesized that the synergistic group would have increased growth mindset, stress-is-enhancing mindset, and academic motivation, and decreased stress from pre- to post-intervention. We also predicted that the synergistic group would have lower stress and higher academic motivation post-intervention compared to the other groups. In contrast, we predicted that the control group would have lower growth mindset, stress-is-enhancing mindset, and academic motivation and higher stress compared to the other groups post-intervention. Our second aim was to assess the effect of mindset interventions on responses to hypothetical academic scenarios to examine how mindsets could affect one’s potential behaviors. We did not create hypotheses for the second aim as it was exploratory.

Participants

Any currently enrolled students at a southeastern college who were at least 18 years of age were eligible to participate in the study. According to a G*power analysis using an effect size f 2 of 0.25, a power level of 0.80, and a significance value of 0.05, 136 participants were required for the main analysis (2 × 4 mixed ANOVA) to have sufficient statistical power (Faul et al., 2009 ). Although 272 participants began the survey and provided consent, we removed data from 62 participants because they stopped the study before finishing the pre-post measures ( n  = 58), or they did not follow the instructions in their written responses ( n  = 4). The majority of individuals who stopped early quit on the first survey ( n  = 26) or during the intervention ( n  = 21). There was not a clear trend that one intervention resulted in more drop-out than others ( n  = 4 growth mindset; n  = 4 synergistic; n  = 6 stress-is-enhancing mindset; n  = 7 control group. Our final sample contained 210 participants, which was sufficient for our analyses.

We received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the college and collected data in January 2023 online. Participants were recruited through a campus-wide email. After indicating consent, participants completed a baseline stress scale. Next, they completed measures of growth mindset, stress-is-enhancing mindset, state stress, and academic motivation. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to one of four groups: growth mindset, stress mindset, synergistic mindset, or control. All groups completed three activities designed to shift their mindset to the group they were assigned. After completing the activities, participants completed the same assessments of growth mindset, stress-is-enhancing mindset, state stress, and academic motivation. Subsequently, participants responded to behavioral questions about hypothetical academic scenarios. Finally, participants completed demographic information. The study took approximately 17 min, and each participant was compensated with a $10 Amazon gift card.

Group Interventions

Our interventions were modeled after Yeager et al. ( 2022 ) but were adapted to be shorter and simpler. Each group first read research on their assigned mindset. The growth mindset group read about the malleability of the brain. The stress mindset group read about the adaptive purposes of stress. The synergistic mindset group read about both of those topics, and the control group read about the functional areas of the brain. Each group then read practical strategies about how to implement the mindsets in their life. Next, participants read an example story about how a student applied the assigned mindset to an academic challenge. Finally, participants were asked to write a short paragraph about how they planned to use a similar mindset and strategies on a future academic setback/challenge. They were prompted to write at least 500 characters (100 words). Each group’s procedure is detailed in the Supplemental Materials.

Baseline Stress

Baseline stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale, which asked participants questions to rate their stress levels over the past month (Cohen et al., 1983 ). Participants rated 10 items (e.g., “In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?”) on a scale from 0 ( never ) to 4 ( very often ). After reverse scoring the necessary items, a total score was calculated. The possible total score ranged from 0 to 40, with higher scores representing more stress. Cronbach’s α was 0.86.

Pre-Post Measures

Growth mindset.

The Growth Mindset Scale assessed whether participants believe they can learn and improve (Dweck et al., 1995 ). Participants indicated their agreement with three items (e.g., “You have a certain amount of intelligence, and you can’t really change it”) on a Likert scale from 1 ( strongly agree ) to 6 ( strongly disagree ). Items were reverse-scored and averaged; higher scores indicated a higher growth mindset. Cronbach’s α was 0.88 for pre- and post-intervention.

Stress Mindset

The Stress Mindset Measure assessed whether participants view stress as enhancing or debilitating (Crum et al., 2013 ). Participants indicated their agreement to eight items (e.g., “Experiencing stress facilitates my learning and growth”) on a Likert scale from 0 ( strongly disagree ) to 4 ( strongly agree ). Scores were averaged, and higher scores indicated a higher stress-is-enhancing mindset. Cronbach’s α was 0.83 for pre-intervention and 0.88 for post-intervention.

State Stress

State stress was measured through a visual analog scale where participants indicated how much they felt stress currently from 0 ( not at all ) to 100 ( extremely ).

Academic Motivation

Academic motivation was measured through a visual analog scale where participants indicated how motivated they felt to complete their coursework currently from 0 ( not at all ) to 100 ( extremely ).

Academic Scenarios

Participants read and responded to three hypothetical academic scenarios. The first scenario involved failing an assignment: “Imagine you fail the first assignment of the semester after completing the work and trying your best.” The second scenario included a professor’s fixed mindset response: “Imagine that you talk to the professor about your failed assignment. Your professor tries to make you feel better by telling you that this subject is hard and isn’t for everyone.” The third scenario demonstrated a professor’s growth mindset response: “Imagine that you talk to the professor about your failed assignment. Your professor tries to make you feel better by telling you that they will help you, and they believe in your ability to improve.” In each scenario, participants were asked to rate how much they would want to withdraw from the course if they could on a visual analogue scale from 0 ( not at all ) to 100 ( extremely ).

Demographic Questions

Participants reported their age, gender, race, ethnicity, and class year.

Manipulation Check

We examined all the written responses to the interventions to make sure they followed instructions of their group assignment. We removed four individuals for not following those instructions.

Statistical Analyses

SPSS version 28 was used for all analyses. Descriptive statistics and reliability analyses were calculated for all main variables. Chi-squared analyses were conducted to assess if there were differences in demographic variables among the four groups. A one-way (group) ANOVA was conducted for baseline stress to determine any baseline differences among the four groups. For aim 1, we conducted 2 (time) x 4 (group) mixed ANOVAs on growth-mindset, stress-is-enhancing mindset, stress, and academic motivation. For aim 2, we conducted one-way between-subjects (4 groups) ANOVAs on desire to withdraw from a course based on three hypothetical scenarios. Post-hoc tests using Bonferroni were conducted to determine where the significant differences occurred.

Descriptive Statistics of Participants

Descriptive statistics including gender, race, ethnicity, class year, and age for participants are displayed in Table  1 . Most participants were White, non-Hispanic/Latinx women. The mean age of participants was 20 years old and ranged from 18 to 22. There were no significant differences by demographic variables among the four groups (Table  1 ).

There was a significant interaction between time and group for growth mindset, F (3, 206) = 10.65, p  < .001, η p 2  = 0.13 (Fig.  1 ). Growth mindset significantly increased from pre-intervention ( M  = 4.21, SD  = 1.05) to post-intervention ( M  = 4.67, SD  = 1.06) in the synergistic group, p  < .001. Additionally, growth mindset significantly increased from pre-intervention ( M  = 4.14, SD  = 1.05) to post-intervention ( M  = 4.78, SD  = 1.07) in the growth mindset group, p  < .001. At post-intervention, the growth mindset group ( M  = 4.78, SD  = 1.07) had significantly higher growth mindset than the control group ( M  = 4.18, SD  = 1.06), p  = .028, and the stress mindset group ( M  = 4.22, SD  = 1.06), p  = .048.

Growth Mindset by Group and Time. Note. Vertical axis was abridged for clarity. The bracket indicates there is a significant difference between the growth mindset group and the stress mindset and control group. Error bars represent standard error. * p  < .05

Stress-is-Enhancing Mindset

There was a significant interaction between time and group for stress-is-enhancing mindset, F (3, 206) = 17.74, p  < .001, η p 2  = 0.21 (Fig.  2 ). Stress-is-enhancing mindset significantly increased from pre-intervention ( M  = 1.76, SD  = 0.67) to post-intervention ( M  = 2.18, SD  = 0.66) in the synergistic group, p  < .001. Additionally, stress-is-enhancing mindset significantly increased from pre-intervention ( M  = 1.72, SD  = 0.65) to post-intervention ( M  = 2.25, SD  = 0.63) in the stress mindset group, p  < .001. At post-intervention, the synergistic group ( M  = 2.18, SD  = 0.69) had significantly higher stress-is-enhancing mindset than the control group ( M  = 1.82, SD  = 0.69), p  = .048, and the growth mindset group ( M  = 1.73, SD  = 0.69), p  = .005. Also at post-intervention, the stress mindset group ( M  = 2.25, SD  = 0.69) had significantly higher stress-is-enhancing mindset than the control group ( M  = 1.82, SD  = 0.69), p  = .011, and the growth mindset group ( M  = 1.73, SD  = 0.69), p  < .001.

Stress Mindset by Group and Time. Note. Vertical axis was abridged for clarity. The bracket indicates there is a significant difference between both the synergistic and stress mindset group and the growth mindset and control group. Error bars represent standard error. * p  < .01

There was a significant main effect by time, F (1, 206) = 21.80, p  < .001, η p 2  = 0.10, such that stress decreased across all groups from pre-exposure ( M  = 46.41, SD  = 23.59) to post-exposure ( M  = 41.76, SD  = 25.04), p  < .001 (Fig.  3 ). However, there was not a significant main effect by group, F (3, 206) = 0.37, p  = .77, η p 2  = 0.005, or a significant interaction by time and group, F (3, 206) = 1.42, p  = .24, η p 2  = 0.02.

Stress by Group and Time. Note. Vertical axis was abridged for clarity. Error bars represent standard error. * p  < .01

There was a significant main effect by time, F (1, 206) = 13.74, p  < .001, η p 2  = 0.063, such that academic motivation increased across all groups from pre-exposure ( M  = 51.74, SD  = 25.94) to post-exposure ( M  = 55.19, SD  = 25.98) (Fig.  4 ). However, there was not a significant main effect by group, F (3, 206) = 0.31, p  = .82, η p 2  = 0.004, or a significant interaction by time and group, F (3, 206) = 0.05, p  = .99, η p 2  = 0.001.

Academic Motivation by Group and Time. Note. Vertical axis was abridged for clarity. Error bars represent standard error. * p  < .01

There was a significant main effect for group about wanting to withdraw from a course if they could when they failed the first assignment after trying their best, F (3, 206) = 5.99, p  < .001, η p 2  = 0.08. The synergistic group ( M  = 40.54, SD  = 33.60) had a significantly lower likelihood of wanting to withdraw from the course compared to the control group ( M  = 67.15, SD  = 33.59), p  < .001. In addition, the stress mindset group ( M  = 46.22, SD  = 33.64) had a significantly lower likelihood of wanting to withdraw from the course compared to the control group ( M  = 67.15, SD  = 33.59), p  = .01.

There was also a significant main effect for group about wanting to withdraw when participants were faced with a professor with a fixed mindset, F (3, 206) = 2.88, p  = .037, η p 2  = 0.04. Participants in the synergistic group ( M  = 51.37, SD  = 35.52) were significantly less likely to want to withdraw from the course than those in the control group ( M  = 71.48, SD  = 35.57), p  = .03. When a professor had a growth mindset, participants did not differ significantly in their likelihood to want to withdraw from the course based on their mindset group, F (3, 206) = 1.08, p  = .36, η p 2  = 0.02.

This study’s main aim was to examine the effect of mindset interventions on mindsets, state stress, and academic motivation. Our hypotheses were partially supported. Each mindset intervention improved mindsets as intended. In addition, state stress decreased, and academic motivation increased from pre- to post-intervention in the mindset groups as predicted, but we did not predict that state stress would decrease and academic motivation would increase in the control group as well. In addition, we did not find that the synergistic group had better outcomes compared to the other three groups for stress and academic motivation. The study’s second aim was to examine the effect of the mindset interventions on hypothetical academic scenarios. We found that students in the synergistic group were the only students who were less likely to want to withdraw from a course in both negative hypothetical academic scenarios (if they failed an assignment or were faced with a professor with a fixed mindset), suggesting the benefits of the synergistic mindset.

Our results showed that the growth mindset intervention (in both the growth mindset group and synergistic group) was successful in increasing a growth mindset. This finding aligns with previous research (Smith & Capuzzi, 2019 ). However, our study also found that the growth mindset intervention reduced stress, whereas Smith and Capuzzi ( 2019 ) did not find a change in anxiety, though they found a negative relationship between growth mindset and anxiety. Perhaps the difference in the construct of anxiety versus stress and the different measures used in those studies played a role in those varying results. However, our study’s intervention was notably shorter (5 to 10 min) than Smith and Capuzzi’s ( 2019 ) 75-minute intervention, which suggests that a growth mindset can be induced more efficiently. Moreover, we found that the growth mindset intervention increased academic motivation, which parallels previous research (Blackwell et al., 2007 ; Sarrasin et al., 2018 ). That said, it is important to note that while participants in the growth mindset group had significantly higher growth mindset than the control group, there were not differences between the groups for stress and academic motivation, indicating a lack of treatment effect for those variables. That lack of difference may be because those variables were more distal outcomes. A meta-analysis found that the largest effects for growth mindset interventions are on more proximal outcomes such as mindset than more distal outcomes such as psychological health (Burnette et al., 2023 ).

Similarly, we found that the stress mindset intervention (in both the stress mindset group and synergistic group) was successful in increasing a stress-is-enhancing mindset. This finding is in concert with previous research (Keech et al., 2021 ). Furthermore, we found that stress decreased in those groups, whereas Keech et al. ( 2021 ) only found decreased stress in participants who had overall higher stress than the other participants. Our sample had high averages of baseline stress across all groups, which may be why we found an overall difference for everyone. We also found that the stress mindset intervention increased academic motivation, which has not been studied previously to our knowledge. Perhaps rethinking academic stress reminded students of the benefits of learning rather than viewing it as threatening, which may have led to an increased desire to complete academic work. However, similar to growth mindset, we only found differences between the stress mindset group and the control group for the proximal outcome of stress-is-enhancing mindset, which indicates there was not a treatment effect for stress and academic motivation.

The control group did not change in growth mindset or stress-is-enhancing mindset over time, which aligns with expectations. Surprisingly, though, the control group had decreased stress and increased academic motivation after learning about the brain, despite us using a similar control group design as Yeager et al. ( 2022 ). It is possible that learning about the function of different brain parts and writing about them led to increased feelings of appreciation of one’s brain. Completing this activity also served as a break from their academic work, which may also have led to students feeling less stressed and more energized for their work.

While the synergistic group was the only group to have improvements in all four outcomes, the synergistic group did not show significantly better results in stress reduction and academic motivation than the other groups. Therefore, it appears that learning about both mindsets does not necessarily have additive effects as they potentially affect stress and academic motivation in a similar way. However, the mechanisms of how those mindsets are related to different outcomes needs to be explored further.

For our second aim, we found that the interventions affected projected behavioral responses to hypothetical academic scenarios. The synergistic and stress mindset groups were significantly less likely to want to withdraw from a course compared to the control group when faced with failing the first assignment in a course after trying their best. Perhaps they were applying what they learned and practiced in the intervention to view the failure as a challenge rather than a stressor.

In addition, participants in the synergistic group were less likely to want to withdraw from a course compared to the control group when faced with a professor who expressed a fixed mindset. This finding is in line with previous research that shows that a professor’s mindset can affect students’ course engagement and dropout intentions (Muenks et al., 2020 ). The synergistic group may have applied both ideas from the growth mindset and stress mindset intervention; they may have trusted their own mindset rather than the professor’s mindset and reframed the situation as a challenge rather than a stressor. These behavioral responses suggest that the synergistic group may confer benefits above and beyond the single mindset groups.

Our sample had multiple limitations regarding participants. For example, the sample was mostly white, educated women, which limits the generalizability of our findings. The demographics of this study’s sample also could have influenced the familiarity of participants with the concepts taught. For example, the concept of a growth mindset is now commonly taught in many college courses, especially psychology courses. Therefore, participants may have already been aware of some of the research about mindsets.

Furthermore, the intervention was limited in several ways. We do not know if participants read and absorbed each piece of information. In addition, twenty-one participants quit the study during the intervention, which could indicate that they were not interested in it or engaged with it. There was not a clear difference in drop-out across intervention groups, so it’s possible it was due to all of them requiring writing. However, further research is needed to determine why some individuals would choose not to continue this type of intervention. A few individuals also had negative responses to the stress mindset intervention as they thought that it was invalidating to the negative impact of stressors. Yeager et al. ( 2022 ) highlighted that mindset interventions are not meant for reappraising traumatic stressors; therefore, it’s possible that the individuals who had a negative response may have had those types of experiences and felt invalidated. In turn, feeling emotionally invalidated has been found to predict negative affect and stress (Schreiber & Veilleux, 2022 ; Zielinski et al., 2023 ). Recent research has discovered that applying a meta-cognitive approach that highlights both the stress-is-enhancing mindset and addresses how to handle society’s messaging around the negative aspects of stress was more effective than a stress-is-enhancing mindset intervention alone (Crum et al., 2023 ). Future research should continue to explore how these interventions can balance providing the benefit of mindset change while not invalidating an individual’s stress.

Moreover, there were limitations to our measures and the timing of them. State stress and academic motivation were single item sliders, which did not allow us to assess reliability. We also administered the intervention at the beginning of the semester, which could have influenced engagement and perceived relevance of the information. Furthermore, since we only assessed participants at one time point, we do not know how long the effects of the short intervention lasted. While single-session mindset interventions have been shown to have long-term effects (e.g., Heaman et al., 2023 ; Hecht et al., 2023 ; Smith & Capuzzi, 2019 ), it is possible that this shorter intervention will not have sustained effects over time. Including brief “booster” sessions after the intervention similar to Hecht et al. ( 2023 ) would potentially be valuable and should be examined in future research.

The main implication of our study is that brief mindset interventions can be effective in shifting student mindsets. Our results also showed that the synergistic mindset intervention provided the most benefits to students; it was the only group that improved on all the main outcomes, and students in this group were less likely to want to withdraw from a course in both negative hypothetical academic scenarios (if they failed an assignment or were faced with a professor with a fixed mindset). This type of brief (5–10 min) mindset intervention could be easily applied online by students or led by teachers in the classroom. Future research should further examine the mechanisms by which these mindsets are effective on various outcomes. In addition, research should examine the longitudinal effects of brief interventions and if students apply them behaviorally. It also would be valuable for studies to examine how individuals’ characteristics (e.g., age, gender) influence the effectiveness of mindset interventions. Overall, continuing this research can have benefits on reducing stress and improving educational outcomes in young adults.

Data Availability

Data can be made available upon request.

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College students’ stress and health in the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion

Chunjiang yang.

School of Economics and Management, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China

Yashuo Chen

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All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files. In addition, all data are available form the OSF database. The link is https://osf.io/ajfhw/ and the DOI is 10.17605/OSF.IO/AJFHW .

The COVID-19 pandemic has unhinged the lives of people across the globe. In particular, more than 30 million Chinese college students are home-schooling, yet there is little understanding of how academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion lead to a decrease in their health. This study examined the relationships between Chinese college students’ three critical stressors and two types of health in the COVID‐19 pandemic context. We used a three-wave lagged design with a one-week interval. All the constructs were assessed by self-report in anonymous surveys during the COVID‐19 pandemic. College students were asked to report their demographic information, academic workload, separation from school, fears of contagion, perceived stress, and health. The results of this study showed that academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion had negative effects on college students’ health via perceived stress. In the COVID-19 crisis, multiple prevention and control measures focusing on college students may lead them to have different degrees of stress and health problems. Our results enrich the literature on stress and health and offer novel practical implications for all circles of the society to ensure students’ health under the context of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Introduction

Compared with other student groups, such as primary school students and middle school students, the traditional view is that college students bear more pressure and have more serious physical and mental health problems [ 1 ]. In previous research, there is a strongly held consensus that dealing with intimate relationships, financial difficulties, and fulfilling responsibilities and roles are the main sources of stress for college students. Due to the recent social changes in the education domain (e.g., the sharing of educational resources and advances in communication technology), the use of distance education is more and more, which changes the communication patterns between teachers and students, increases the isolation and independence of students, and thus becomes an important source of pressure for students [ 2 ]. Today, the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is becoming unstoppable, having infected more than 12 million people [ 3 ]. In response to this unprecedented challenge, the Chinese government has ordered a nationwide school closure as an emergency measure to prevent the spreading of the infection among teachers and students. As a consequence, 30.315 million Chinese college students are trapped at home, learning online courses through the internet to complete the required academic tasks. So far, the new virtual semester has been going on for nearly three months, and various courses are offered online in a well-organized manner. Although these decisive actions and efforts are highly commendable and necessary, there are also reasons to worry that drawn-out school suspension, home confinement, and distance learning may have adverse effects on college students’ physical and mental health [ 4 ]. In addition, a series of issues, such as fear of contagion, frustration and boredom, inadequate information, and lack of private space at home, would continue to emerge and increase during the COVID-19 outbreak [ 4 ]. However, previous research failed to give enough attention to college students in the epidemic context. For example, some studies have shown that large-scale isolation measures and loss of income have led to mental health problems among migrant workers during COVID-19 outbreaks [ 5 ]. Chen et al. [ 6 ] have discussed the problems in psychological intervention services of medical workers. The present study aimed to fill the void by focusing on college students to explore the influence of several important stressors on their health during the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, we identified three important stressors among college students—academic workload, separation from school, and fear of contagion and further explored the mechanism behind the relationships between three stressors and mental and physical health.

Academic stressors refer to any academic demands (e.g., environmental, social, or internal demands) that cause a student to adjust his or her behavior. Learning and examination, performance competition, especially mastering much knowledge in a short time, would lead to different degrees of academic pressure [ 7 ]. Although all planned courses have been affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, online learning still leaves college students with the same academic burden as usual. In addition, previous evidence shows that separation anxiety disorder of adults is similar to that of children and adolescents in phenomenology. College students who are attached to their classmates may experience separation anxiety after leaving school. Emerging problems during the COVID-19 outbreak, such as conflicting family schedules, changes in eating and sleeping habits, separation from classmates, and loneliness, may have adverse effects on college students [ 8 ]. Seligman and Wuyek suggested that college students may experience separation anxiety when they go home for the holidays [ 9 ]. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has projected humanity into an unprecedented era characterized by feelings of helplessness and loss of control. As Sontag [ 10 ] noted, unknown diseases cannot be totally controlled and thus are often considered more threatening than factual evidence. During this period, populations remained almost entirely susceptible to COVID-19, causing the natural spread of infections to exhibit almost perfect exponential growth [ 11 ]. Therefore, feelings of fear and apprehension about having or contracting COVID-19 may be a significant stressor for college students. Considering the actual situation of college students during an outbreak of COVID-19, the first aim of the study is to identify academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion, which are the three important stressors of college students.

Moreover, previous studies demonstrated that diseases (e.g., SARS) [ 12 ], academic (e.g., academic expectations) [ 13 ], and attachments (e.g., attachment to parents) [ 14 ] are closely associated with students’ health. However, it is still not fully understood how these stressors lead to health-related outcomes. In particular, we know little about the mechanism through which these stressors affect physical and mental health in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Brewster et al. [ 15 ] have suggested that further research is needed to establish the different mechanisms through which stressors impact health in order to have a profound understanding of the nature of stress. In response to these calls for further research, the second aim of this study thus was to examine the potential mediating roles of perceived stress in the relationships between the three stressors and physical and psychological health.

Overall, the current study focuses on college students and presents an integrated framework to investigate whether and how three types of stressors influence physical and mental health. Our study contributes to the current literature on stress and health in three unique ways. First, to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to explore home-schooling college students’ physical and mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak. It makes up for the lack of understanding of the situations of college students who are ongoing home-schooling during the COVID-19 outbreak. Second, we discovered that academic stressors, interpersonal stressors, and environmental stressors of college students are critical factors that influence their health. This investigation not only overcomes the previous analysis focusing primarily on the effect of a single stressor on college students’ health but also enlarges the scope of current research on students’ stress and health by shifting the locus of theorizing away from campus domain to family domain. Third, by examining the mediating role of perceived stress, we exposed the “black box” in the relationship between stressors and health.

Three stressors among college students during the COVID-19 outbreak

College students’ stressors have been typically grouped into three major categories: academic pressure [ 16 – 19 ], social and interpersonal pressure [ 20 , 21 ], and environmental pressure [ 22 , 23 ]. Specifically, this study focuses on academic workload (representing academic pressure), separation from school (representing social and interpersonal pressure), and fear of contagion (representing environment pressure).

Academic workload

Academic problems have been regarded as the most common stressor for college students [ 24 , 25 ]. For example, in Schafer’s [ 26 ] investigation, students reported that the most significant daily hassles were academics-related stressors such as constant study, writing papers, preparing for exams, and boring teachers. The academic pressure easily comes from taking and preparing for exams, grade level competition, and acquiring a large amount of knowledge in a short period of time [ 7 ]. Perceived stress is a response to stressors, referring to the state of physical or psychological arousal [ 27 ]. College students experience adverse physical and psychological outcomes when they perceive excessive or negative stress. Excessive stress may induce physical impairments, including lack of energy, loss of appetite, headaches, or gastrointestinal problems [ 28 ]. Numerous studies have evaluated academic stress associated with various adverse outcomes, such as poor health [ 29 , 30 ], anxiety [ 31 ], depression [ 32 ], and poor academic performance [ 33 , 34 ]. In particular, Hystad et al. [ 35 ] found significant associations between academic stress and health, both psychological and physical.

Separation from school

Previous studies have shown that students view the transition from high school to college as a source of some degree of stress and emotional dissonance [ 36 ]. College students’ adaptability is closely related to their attachment with different people, such as parents and friends. Indeed, extant research on attachment has four research directions. First, the most systematic studies have focused on adolescents’ psychological separation from parents, suggesting that the healthy development of adolescents depends largely on psychological separation from parents [ 37 ]. The second field focuses on the attachment relationship between parents and adolescents, assuming that attachment to parents is a necessary prerequisite for adolescents’ adaptive function [ 38 , 39 ]. The third research stream emphasized the importance of psychological separation and attachment. According to this point of view, a balanced parent-child relationship between psychological separation and parental attachment is the best choice for students’ development [ 37 , 40 ]. Finally, a fourth research stream focuses on attachment to a group or group members in a campus environment and suggests that this attachment may influence students’ affective and behavioral outcomes [ 41 ]. From the above-mentioned research fields, we can discover that the existing literature mainly focuses on the effects of attachment on college students in their campus life. Of course, it is undeniable that the campus is the primary field for college students, while the family field becomes more important for college students during the weekends, holidays, and internships. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research on the influence of attachment on college students in their family life. According to the literature on attachment and separation, attachment relationships between college students and their classmates may affect their stress and health when they are at home.

Social cohesion theorists believed group formation was entirely a function of individual relationships among the group members: As individuals were attracted to one another, they were consequently attracted to the group as a whole. Furthermore, group formation can occur independently of interpersonal attraction [ 42 ]. Based on the social identity theorists’ research, in minimal groups, people formed group attachment without having any contact or even knowing the other members in their group [ 41 ]. Thus, whether or not there is a close relationship with group members, one can feel the attachment to the group to which he belongs. However, some scholars reasoned that students with a stronger and healthier sense of themselves as individuals would be better equipped to handle the demands for independent functioning that accompany the college transition. An investigation among medical students shows that students with greater group cohesion reported less stress [ 43 ]. Separation anxiety begins with separation from parents, peers, and other significant persons. The national mandate force college students to separate from school in the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to separate from their peers and thus may cause their stress.

Fears of contagion

Fears of contagion reflect feelings of apprehension about having or contracting COVID-19. The literature on health anxiety [ 44 ] suggests that threatening events—such as a global pandemic—trigger high levels of stress. Although previous studies have described the pressures triggered by large-scale events, such as natural disasters [ 44 ] and terrorist attacks [ 45 ], the outbreak of infectious diseases (the COVID-19 pandemic) worldwide is different from other large-scale events [ 46 ]. Update to 1 May 2020 , the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in 3175207 confirmed cases and 224172 deaths [ 3 ]. To prevent the spread of infectious diseases, Chines schools have been closed nationwide, collective activities have been canceled, public transportation has been suspended, and family imprisonment has been strictly enforced in some epidemic areas. The outbreak of COVID-19 has a seriously destructive impact on people’s lives all over the world. The effects of COVID-19 are multifaceted, affecting both physical health (e.g., pneumonia, liver, and renal injury) and psychological well-being (e.g., fear of contracting an infectious disease, avoid exposure to others to reduce the risk of being infected). Although national preventive measures can slow the spread of the epidemic, individuals cannot ensure that they are not infected with the disease. According to Chinese data, a large number of transmissions, both in nosocomial and community settings, occurred through human-to-human contact with individuals showing no or mild symptoms [ 47 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic is an immediate threat, it is unclear how long it will persist, and there are a multitude of unanswered questions regarding its impact. Several anecdotal reports by health care professionals note the COVID-19 pandemic triggers individuals’ anxiety and stress, particularly surrounding the uncertainties brought by COVID-19 [ 48 ]. Therefore, we suggest that fear of having or contracting COVID-19 may lead to college students’ stress and health problems.

Transactional models of stress and coping

Lazarus and Folkman [ 49 ] defined stress as a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being. The Transactional Model of Stress provides a basic framework for explaining the processes of individuals coping with stressful events. A core tenet of this model is that the interaction between the person and the environment creates an individual’s feeling of stress. When faced with a stressor, two appraisals were triggered, an individual evaluates potential threats or harms (primary appraisal), as well as the ability to change the situation and control negative emotional reactions (secondary appraisal). Primary appraisal is an individual’s estimate of the significance of an event as stressful, negative, positive, controllable, challenging, friendly, or irrelevant. The secondary appraisal is a judgment of an individual’s coping resources and choices [ 50 ]. The response described in the transaction model starts after the primary and secondary appraisals [ 49 ]. There are two kinds of coping efforts strongly related to a person’s cognitive appraisal. One is referred to as problem-focused coping, and the other is referred to as emotion-focused coping. The former coping strategy has been shown to be more commonly used in a person’s causal analysis, suggesting that some measures can be taken to change the negative situation. For example, Folkman and Lazarus [ 51 ] show that students will adopt a problem-based coping style before the examination. The latter coping strategy predominates when people assess that they have no options or lack resources to alter the situation, stressors have to be accepted [ 52 ]. Students have reported they often use escape/avoidance ways to cope with stressors. The problem-solving efforts try to change the situation actively, while the emotion-centric coping style will only change the individual’s interpretation of the stressors. Based on these arguments, we suggest that college students who feel stressed (e.g., regard their stress as an environmental source or lack of ability to alter) would adopt emotion-focused coping as a means of reappraising an uncontrollable situation. Thus, perceived stress plays a central role in the attribution–secondary appraisal coping relationship.

The present study

Our primary aim in the study was to examine the influence of stressors on college students’ stress and health during the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, we empirically examine the influence of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion on college students’ psychology and physiology health that included perceived stress as a mediator. Based on the literature review, we hypothesized:

H1a: Academic workload is positively correlated with perceived stress.

H1b: Academic workload is negatively correlated with physical and mental health.

H2a: Separation from school is positively correlated with perceived stress.

H2b: Separation from school is negatively correlated with physical and mental health.

H3a: Fears of contagion are positively correlated with perceived stress.

H3b: Fears of contagion are negatively correlated with physical and mental health.

H4: Perceived stress is negatively correlated with physical and mental health.

• H5: Perceived stress mediates the relationship between academic workload and physical and mental health.
• H6: Perceived stress mediates the relationship between separation from school and physical and mental health.
• H7: Perceived stress mediates the relationship between fears of contagion and physical and mental health.

The hypothesized model is presented in Fig 1 .

Ethics statement

All participants were treated following the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines, and the study protocol was approved by the Yanshan University Institutional Review Board (Approval no. 20-03-01). Each participant got an introduction and a link to a questionnaire via WeChat, a widely used instant communication tool in China. In the introduction, anonymity, the aim of the survey, and information on whether participants agreed to participate in the survey were all illustrated in detail. We explained that if you want to participate in the survey, please open the questionnaire link and fill in your true feelings. Some college students expressed their intention to participate in written form through WeChat, and other college students directly participated in the survey with tacit approval according to the instructions. Therefore, all participants completed the questionnaire voluntarily. In addition, participants were undergraduate students recruited from four public universities in China. Thus, participants are adults and not minors, and we do not need to obtain consent from parents or guardians.

Procedure and participants

Our work is situated within an environmental context the COVID-19 pandemic. All variables were assessed with participants’ self-reports in three anonymous online surveys. Data were collected in three waves to minimize common method bias [ 53 ]. In the first-wave survey (Time 1), participants were asked to report their academic workload, separation from school, fears of contagion, and necessary demographic information. In Time 1, 1072 completed questionnaires were returned. One week later (Time 2), students evaluated their level of perceived stress. Time 2 questionnaires were distributed to the 1072 students, with 945 completed questionnaires being returned. Finally, one week after the second-wave survey (Time 3), students evaluated their physical and psychological health. At Time 3, 867 complete questionnaires were returned.

The average age of college undergraduates was 20.17 years, with 69 percent female. There are 348 freshmen, accounting for 40.1%; 200 sophomores, accounting for 23.1%; 305 junior students, accounting for 35.2%; 14 senior students, accounting for 1.6%. The average number of online courses is 8.41. Only 29.2% of the students rated the quality of online courses as good or very good. Nearly half of the participants said they wanted or very much wanted the school to start soon (49.2%). Of the 867 college students who had participated, 56.2% of them were concerned or very concerned about the possibility of contracting COVID-19 after the semester began. The demographic profile of the survey participants is presented in Table 1 .

We translated the measures from English to Chinese following the commonly used translation/back-translation procedure. All measures are reported in S1 Appendix . Unless otherwise noted, participants responded to all items on a 7-point scale (from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree).

It was measured using the three-item scale developed by Hystad et al. [ 35 ]. Items included: “I am spending a lot of time thinking about how this semester’s grades could negatively affect my educational and career goals,” “I am worrying a great deal about the effect this semester’s grades will have on my future,” and “I find myself very concerned about the grades I am likely to receive this semester.” Cronbach’s alpha in their study was .85, which suggests that this scale has good reliability. In the current study, Cronbach’s α of this variable is .883.

Separation from school was measured using the attachment avoidance scale developed by Smith et al. [ 54 ]. The scale has fifteen-item. An example of a reworded scale item is “I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on my group.” Factor analytic results in their research suggested that the scale has good reliability. In our current study, we reworded to refer to participants’ classmates rather than their social group. An example of a reworded scale item is “I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on my classmates.” Cronbach’s α of this variable is .929.

We developed a six-item scale to assess participants’ fears of COVID-19 infection. Six items included “In public, I don’t care about touching the door handle without protection,” “In public, I don’t mind sitting in a chair that has just been sat on,” “In an elevator, I don’t mind pushing a button without protection,” “When I’m in a crowded place, I don’t worry about coronavirus from other people,” “I don’t worry about infection if other people don’t wear masks,” “Wearing a mask would make me feel safe.” In the current study, Cronbach’s α of this variable is .842. The results of confirmatory factor analysis are shown that χ2 = 74.424; df = 8; RMSEA = .098; CFI = .982; TLI = .966; SRMR = .043. Thus, this scale has acceptable reliability and validity.

Perceived stress

The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale [ 55 ] was used to measure the student’s stress level in the past month. Participants responded to the items on a 5-point scale (from1 = never to 5 = very often). A sample item is “In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and “stressed”?” In our research, Cronbach’s α of this variable is .792.

Physical and psychological health

The CHQ-12 of the Chinese version was used to measure physical and psychological health. The CHQ-12 has been widely used in Chinese populations. The 12 items included headaches, heart palpitations, chest pain or tightening, trembling or pins and needles, sleeplessness, nervousness, and hopelessness. Participants responded to the items on a 4-point scale (1 = not at all, 4 = more than usual). A higher score represented a more severe psychosocial impairment. In our research, Cronbach’s α of this variable is .895.

Control variables

We controlled students’ age, gender, grade, and the number of online courses in the study.

Analysis strategy

First, we conducted a series of confirmatory factor analyses ( CFA ) in order to test the discriminant validity of the five prime constructs (academic workload, separation from school, fears of contagion, perceived stress, and health). CFA, as an empirical research technology, is affiliated with structural equation modeling. Therefore, it is necessary to judge the fitting situation according to the fitting indexes from the structural equation model. Common fitting indexes include chi-square( χ2 ), degree of freedom ( df ), CFI , TLI , RMSEA , and S RMR . Specifically, if the ratio of chi square to degree of freedom is less than 5, the model is generally acceptable. When CFI and TLI are higher than 0.9, the model fits well. The smaller the RMSEA and SRMR , the better the result, and in particular, when it is below 0.08, the model is acceptable. Second, we performed Harman’s single-factor test to explore the potential influence of common method variance. No single factor accounting for more than 50% of the variance of all the relevant items indicates that the results are acceptable. Third, we calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficient using SPSS Version 21, which reflects the effect of change in one variable when the other variable changes. Fourth, we tested our hypotheses using a path analysis in Mplus Version 8.3. To examine mediation (Hypothesis 5,6, and 7), we used a bootstrap simulation with 1,000 replications to create our bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals (CIs) around our indirect effects. The bootstrap approach is a more robust strategy than the causal step procedure for small samples for assessing indirect effects and a useful method for avoiding power problems relating to a non-normal sampling of the indirect effect. When the 95% confidence interval of the path coefficient does not contain zero, the mediating effect is significant.

Confirmatory factor analyses

Table 2 presents the CFA results. As shown, the baseline five-factor model fitted the data well ( χ2 = 3020.006; df = 965; RMSEA = .050; CFI = .920; TLI = .914; SRMR = .064). Against this baseline five-factor model, we tested four alternative models: model 1 was a four-factor model with academic workload merged with perceived stress to form a single factor ( χ2 = 5405.203; df = 969; RMSEA = .073; CFI = .827; TLI = .815; SRMR = .112); model 2 was three-factor model with separation from school merged with academic workload and perceived stress to form a single factor ( χ2 = 6756.895; df = 972; RMSEA = .083; CFI = .774; TLI = .760; SRMR = .096); model 3 was a two-factor model, with fears of contagion merged with separation from school, academic workload, and perceived stress to form a single factor ( χ2 = 9752.729; df = 974; RMSEA = .102; CF I = .658; TLI = .636; SRMR = .110) and model 4 was a one-factor model with five constructs merged with one factor ( χ2 = 13665.328; df = 975; RMSEA = .123; CFI = .505; TLI = .475; SRMR = .143). As Table 2 shows, the fit indexes supported the hypothesized five-factor model, providing evidence of the construct distinctiveness of fears of contagion, separation from school, academic workload, and perceived stress and health.

Note: AW = academic workload; SFS = separation from school; FOC = fears of contagion; PS = perceived stress; Two factors = AW+SFS+FOC+PS, Health; Three factors = AW+SFS+PS, FOC, Health; Four factors = AW+PS, SFS, FOC, Health.

Tests for common method variance

Because we collected student’s self-report of fears of contagion, separation from school, academic workload, and perceived stress and health in the study, common method variance (CMV) may present as a problem. Therefore, we measured different constructs at different time points to decrease common method variance as much as possible [ 56 ] and showed high respect for the security, anonymity, and privacy of research objects and informants. In addition, the results of Harman’s single-factor test suggest that an exploratory factor analysis of all items explained 68.86% of the total variance, and the largest factor accounted for only 24.73% of the variance.

Descriptive statistics

The bivariate Pearson Correlation produces a sample correlation coefficient, which measures the strength and direction of linear relationships between pairs of continuous variables. Reported in Table 3 are the means, standard deviations and bivariate correlations of variables. Academic workload, separation from school, fears of contagion, and perceived stress were all negatively correlated with health ( r = -.121, p < .01; r = -.289, p < .01; r = -.242, p < 0.01; r = -.225, p < 0.01, respectively). Academic workload, separation from school, and fear of contagion, were all positively correlated with perceived stress ( r = .152, p < .01; r = .207, p < .01; r = .133, p < 0.01, respectively). It appears that these findings preliminarily provided support for our hypotheses.

** = p < 0.01

* = p < 0.05.

Hypothesis testing

We performed structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses and summarized the standardized values of the path coefficients and their significance levels in Fig 2 . The results showed significant positive path coefficients from academic workload to perceived stress ( β = .211, SE = .040, p < .01), providing empirical evidence in support of H1a. Furthermore, academic workload was shown to have a negative effect on health ( β = -.053, SE = .037, n . s .), not providing empirical support for H1b. We also demonstrated that separation from school had a positive association with perceived stress ( β = .324, SE = .043, p < .01) and had a negative association with health ( β = -.252, SE = .039, p < .01), providing empirical evidence in support of H2a and H2b. Moreover, our results showed that fears of contagion were significantly related to perceived stress ( β = .121, SE = .039, p < 0.01) and were significantly related to health ( β = -.088, SE = .035, p < .05), providing empirical evidence in support of H3a and H3b. Perceived stress had a negative effect on health ( β = -.240, SE = .050, p < .01), providing empirical evidence in support of H4.

We further examined the mediating role of perceived stress with nonparametric bootstrapping procedures. As shown in Table 4 , the influence of academic workload on health was mediated by perceived stress because the indirect influence of academic workload on health registered the value of b at -.051 ( SE = .016, p = .001), with the 95% CI [-.081, -.028]. Therefore, H5 was supported. Similarly, the influence of separation from school on health was mediated by perceived stress because the indirect influence of separation from school on health registered the value of b at -.078 ( SE = .020, p = .000), with the 95% CI [-.113, -.049]. Therefore, H6 was supported. The influence of fear of contagion on health was mediated by perceived stress because the indirect influence of fear of contagion on health registered the value of b at -.029 ( SE = .012, p = .014), with the 95% CI [-.053, -.013]. Therefore, H7 was supported.

Note: AW = academic workload; SFS = separation from school; FOC = fears of contagion; We report the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) calculated using 1,000 bootstrap samples, with lower and upper limits in brackets.

The spread of COVID-19 is becoming unstoppable and has already influenced people and countries all over the world. Holmes et al. [ 57 ] called for that multidisciplinary science research must be central to the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provide evidence-based guidance on responding to promoting people’s health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. To answer this call, we focus on college students getting home-schooling to explore their stress and health problems. Although the COVID-19 is still spreading rapidly and widely worldwide, it has been effectively controlled in China. What has happened in China shows that quarantine, social distancing, and isolation of infected populations can contain the epidemic. Whereas individual coping strategies are possible (e.g., social distancing), the spread of the virus at a state level is still beyond any given individual’s control. The continuous spread of the epidemic, strict isolation measures, and delays in starting schools, colleges, and universities across the country are expected to influence college students. Considering stress and anxiety associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic for college students [ 49 ], it is urgent for the society and management departments to understand the actual situation of college students timely and accurately. Based on the Transactional Model of Stress and coping [ 49 ], this study explored the influence of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion on college students’ physical and physiological health, as well as the mediating effect of perceived stress in those relationships.

The current study contributes to the existing literature. First, the present study goes beyond previous literature on college students’ health during the epidemic by integrating three types of stressors from different fields in the proposed model. As highlighted in previous research on college students’ academic stress, preparing exams, courses, and papers should exhibit a negative effect on individual health. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese college students’ learning was not suspended, but they attend the various courses offered online follow the regular schedule. While those measures of the virtual semester ensure regular study, they also cause stress on students. In addition, given the importance of social groups to an individual’s identity and self-worth, we found that college students were separated from their classmates during the COVID-19 epidemic, which brought them stress and anxiety. Previous evidence suggests that college students usually keep attachment relationships with their social group [ 12 , 58 ]. Attachment figures are usually parents, but may also be siblings, grandparents, or group. Unlike most previous studies that focused on separation from parents [ 9 ], this study focused on the influence of departure from school and schoolmates, which is particularly relevant to the epidemic situation. For college students attached to their school or classmates, school-closure is a kind of separation experience, which may be different from their experience when they leave home. Considering the relatively new separation (separation from school) caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, our findings suggest that separation from school was positively related to college students’ perceived stress during home-schooling. Finally, we found that exposure to a potentially infectious environment would lead to people’s stress, which is in line with previous research that pointed out the negative correlation between the risk of infection and life satisfaction [ 58 ]. Similar results have been found in the study of College Students’ psychological adjustment during SARS. For example, Main et al. [ 12 ] found that the experience of SARS-related stressors was positively associated with psychological symptoms for Chinese college students during the outbreak. Thus, we supposed that during an acute large-scale epidemic such as the SARS and COVID-19 epidemic, even among persons who were not directly contaminated with the disease, the psychological influence of the outbreak on them was significant. In doing so, we identified three important stressors for college students in the COVID-19 pandemic, providing essential inspiration for college students to maintain their physical and mental health during the current epidemic.

Second, based on a transactional model view, we provide a plausible mechanism for explaining the association between academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion and health. The transactional model posits that stress responses emerge from appraisal processes that begin when individuals experience a stressor. During primary appraisal, perceptions of elements of the focal stressor are used to determine the degree of threat or harm that this stressor represents; during secondary appraisal, individuals consider if and how they can resolve the underlying stressor. COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness, is an ongoing, global health crisis, and the greatest challenge we have faced since World War II [ 59 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic is a grim but illustrative anxiety-inducing stressor; an uncertain and ongoing threat that cannot be resolved via individual efforts. When individuals have few resources, ways, or abilities at their disposal to deal with the stressors, they generate stress and anxiety and ultimately lead to negative consequences. Thus, perceived stress may be a mediator, transmitting the effects of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion on health-related outcomes. These findings suggest that academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion may contribute to youth’s general perceived stress, which in turn, may negatively influence their physical and psychological health. Our findings supported Lorenzo-Blanco and Unger’s [ 60 ] and Sariçam’s [ 61 ] proposition that perceived stress plays an important role in influencing psychological well-being.

The results of the current study are of significance to practice and policy. First, the administrative department needs to raise the awareness of potential physical and mental health influences of home-schooling during the outbreak. While taking effective prevention measures, the government should guide the mass media to spread positive information and control rumors. Communication can serve as an important resource in dealing with the difficulties of family matters. For instance, parents can share their life experiences with their children and advocate for them to develop good living habits and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. Psychologists can communicate with students by social media platforms to help them cope with mental health issues caused by domestic conflicts, tension with parents, and anxiety from becoming infected. In addition, schools play an important role not only in providing students with educational materials but also in providing students with opportunities to interact with teachers and students. Schools should also provide guidelines and principles for effective online learning and ensure that content meets educational requirements. Nevertheless, it is also important not to overburden students.

Limitations

Despite the potential contribution that the present study makes to the mental health field, limitations of the study should be noted. First, a potential limitation is that all measures came from the same source, raising the potential for same-source measurement biases. However, we used a variety of means to reduce this issue, including varying our response scales and separating our measures in time. Further, as we were interested in how college students have dealt with the pandemic over time, focusing on self-reported experiences was appropriate. Another potential limitation of our study is concerned with causality. Hence, future research should conduct the experimental design or utilize the longitudinal data to ensure the conclusion reflects causation. Finally, our research reflects only the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for college students, and much work is needed to gain a complete understanding of the implications of this crisis for students. Future research could consider how individual factors, such as self-concept, and contextual factors, such as social support, may influence college students’ response to perceived stress. Moreover, research focused on within-person fluctuations of perceived stress during this time would also be instructive, as there is no doubt that individuals have experienced considerable variability on a daily basis during the pandemic.

Conclusions

Confronting the COVID-19 outbreak and variously rigorous measures to prevent the spreading of the infection, college students may feel stress and have more or fewer health problems. Academic workload, psychological separation from school, and fear of contagion were positively associated with the perceived stress and negatively associated with physical and psychological health. In addition, perceived stress is a key mechanism in the relationships between three stressors and two forms of health. This study makes not only unique theoretical contributions to the stress and health literature during the COVID-19 outbreak but also offers novel practical implications for joint efforts from all circles of society to ensure students’ health.

Supporting information

S1 appendix, funding statement.

National Natural Science Foundation of China (71572170). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Data Availability

• PLoS One. 2021; 16(2): e0246676.

Decision Letter 0

30 Dec 2020

PONE-D-20-32875

College students’ stress and health during the COVID-19 outbreak: the effects of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion

Dear Dr. Yang,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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Reviewer #1: Partly

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: In general, this is a good study considering the concept backed by a sound theoretical framework. However, authors need to improve the study’s write-up in several sections of the manuscript especially the English language. I will strongly recommend a native English Language speaker to edit it.

Knowing that we cannot make a causal inference from this study, it will be more prudent to use associate/relate rather than affect.

Page 8: Procedure and Participants

Can authors justify why they used different samples for each Time wave and how they resolve the confounding issues arising from this method?

Also, there seems to be a typo in the number of data collected for wave one.

Authors should start a sentence with words and not figures as did with 49.2% and 56.2%.

Authors may want to revise this section incorporating the number of items per scale, the original developer (author) of each scale, original psychometric property, and how it was scored in this study. Much more importantly, the psychometric properties of these measures for this study.

Data analysis

Authors may end the method section with the above sub-title. This section may detail the types of analytic tools used and the purposes for using them. Cut-off or other criteria related to these analytic tools may be written here.

Tests for common method variance: The first sentence under this sub-section seems incomplete.

Table 3: for bivariate relationships, authors may take out categorical variables from the results as it does not make meaning.

Table 4: Authors may add further details to the table as effect and CI are not enough to get a better picture of the analysis/data.

Page 14: “Given the ongoing COVID -19 epidemic to inducing panic, and anxiety [49], therefore, timely and…” this sentence is difficult to understand, please revise.

Authors may try to relate the theory to the findings thoroughly.

Explaining the “SFS” with separation anxiety disorder is too far-fetched (exaggerated and unconvincing). Besides, these are students above 17 year old. SFS have a role to play in the lives of students but not from the angle of separation anxiety but probably as a supporting/coping strategy.

The way the authors reported the procedure of the data collection did not reflect a cross-sectional design. Hence, it will make readers doubt the authenticity/validity of this study.

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Author response to Decision Letter 0

13 Jan 2021

A Point-by-Point Response to Editor Comments

Your comment:

One expert in this field has carefully reviewed your submission and he pointed out some merits in your work. However, a major concern regarding the sampling should be tackled in the revision. That says, the samples seemed to be different across time points and the authors should provide clear rationale and how they take care of the methodology issues if they really used different samples. This is a fatal point for me to judge whether the revision can be accepted.

Our response:

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to revise our paper. We hope that you find this revised manuscript significantly improved and up to your expectation.

Thank you for your question. Indeed, although the numbers of participants are different across time points, we didn’t use different samples in our research.

First, we explain what the time-lagged design is and why it is used in our research.

The time-lagged design is a type of research design in which the same person reports information or data of different variables at different time points, which has been widely used in science research (e.g., Laschinger & Fida, 2014; SPENCE LASCHINGER & Finegan, 2008; Kilroy et al., 2017). The time-lagged design can ensure the constructs we concerned would be less influenced by common method bias (e.g., Podsakoff et al. 2003). Generally, the independent variables (IV) are first collected at Time-1, and then the mediation variables (mediators) at Time-2, and finally the dependent variables (DV) at Time-3 from the same person. In our research, academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion are independent variables, perceived stress is a mediator, and health is a dependent variable. Thus, we used the time-lagged design and these data of different variables were collected at three time points with one-week interval.

Second, we describe how to conduct the collection of data and explain that we didn’t use different samples in our study.

In the first-wave survey (Time 1), participants were asked to report their academic workload, separation from school, fears of contagion, and necessary demographic information, and we got 1072 questionnaires. One week later (Time 2), perceived stress needs to be measured, and we distributed questionnaires to the 1,072 people who had participated in the first-wave survey. However, 127 participants quit the survey and we got 945 questionnaires at Time 2 (valid response rate: 945/1072=88.15%). One week after the second-wave survey (Time 3), physical and psychological health needs to be measured, and we distributed questionnaires to the 945 people who had participated in both the first-wave and second-wave survey. However, 78 participants quit the survey, and we got 867 questionnaires at Time 3(valid response rate: 867/945=91.95%). That is, we got completed data, including the data of all variables used in our research from 867 participants who participated in three surveys. In the data analysis, we used data from only 867 participants. Because some participants did not participate fully in the three surveys, their data was incomplete and thus could not be included in the study. That is, because some participants dropped out of the survey during the data collection process, the number of participants varied at different time points, as shown in Figure 1.

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of applied psychology, 88(5), 879.

Laschinger, H. K. S., & Fida, R. (2014). A time-lagged analysis of the effect of authentic leadership on workplace bullying, burnout, and occupational turnover intentions. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(5), 739-753.

SPENCE LASCHINGER, H. K., & Finegan, J. (2008). Situational and dispositional predictors of nurse manager burnout: a time‐lagged analysis. Journal of Nursing Management, 16(5), 601-607.

Kilroy, S., Flood, P. C., Bosak, J., & Chênevert, D. (2017). Perceptions of high‐involvement work practices, person‐organization fit, and burnout: A time‐lagged study of health care employees. Human Resource Management, 56(5), 821-835.

A Point-by-Point Response to Reviewer Comments

Reviewer #1: Partly

Thank you very much. Following your suggestions, we carefully revised the manuscript. All changes were marked in blue text. Below please see our point-to-point response to your comments. We hope that you find this revised manuscript significantly improved and up to your expectation.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Thank you very much for your recognition and support!

Reviewer #1: No

Thank you very much. We would like to provide and share the data we used in our research.

Reviewer #1: In general, this is a good study considering the concept backed by a sound theoretical framework. However, authors need to improve the study’s write-up in several sections of the manuscript especially the English language. I will strongly recommend a native English Language speaker to edit it.

Thank you very much for your recognition and support! We have had a professional copy editor with English as her first language to thoroughly go through the draft. We are confident that the writing has been improved and hope that the revised manuscript will meet your requirements. All changes were marked in blue in the revised manuscript.

Thank you very much. Following your suggestion, we use associate/relate rather than affect in the revised manuscript. All changes were marked in blue text.

Page 2 Line 44-Page 8 Line 208:

Page 8 Line 210-Page 9 Line 220:

Thank you very much for your advice. We have corrected the typo in the number of data collected for wave one. In addition, we have started the sentence with words and not figures.

Please see Page 9 Line 245- Line 247:

In the first-wave survey (Time 1), participants were asked to report their academic workload, separation from school, fears of contagion, and necessary demographic information. In Time 1, 1072 completed questionnaires were returned.

Please see Page 10 Line 254- Line 256:

Nearly half of the participants said they wanted or very much wanted the school to start soon (49.2%). Of the 867 college students who had participated, 56.2% of them were concerned or very concerned about the possibility of contracting COVID-19 after the semester began.

Thank you very much. We carefully revised this section. In the revised manuscript, we described the number of items per scale, the original developer of each scale, the reliability of the original scale, and the reliability of scale in our research. All items we used in the research has been provided in Appendix. In addition, we described that participants responded to items on a 7-point scale or 5-point scale. Specifically, the scale of physical and psychological health has its Chinese version, and thus we can directly use it in our research. The scales of academic workload, separation from school, and perceived stress have their English version, and thus we followed the translation/back-translation procedure to translate English to Chinese. Finally, we developed the scale of fears of contagion, and test its reliability and validity. Based on the results of Cronbach's α, we found that the psychometric properties of these measures for this study are acceptable.

Please see Page 10 Line 259- Page 12 Line 294:

We translated the measures from English to Chinese following the commonly used translation/back-translation procedure. All measures are reported in Appendix A. Unless otherwise noted, participants responded to all items on a 7-point scale (from 1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree).

It was measured using the three-item scale developed by Hystad et al. [35]. Items included: “I am spending a lot of time thinking about how this semester’s grades could negatively affect my educational and career goals,” “I am worrying a great deal about the effect this semester’s grades will have on my future,” and “I find myself very concerned about the grades I am likely to receive this semester.” Cronbach’s alpha in their study was .85, which suggests that this scale has good reliability. In the current study, Cronbach's α of this variable is .883.

Separation from school was measured using the attachment avoidance scale developed by Smith et al. [54]. The scale has fifteen-item. An example of a reworded scale item is “I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on my group.” Factor analytic results in their research suggested that the scale has good reliability. In our current study, we reworded to refer to participants' classmates rather than their social group. An example of a reworded scale item is “I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on my classmates.” Cronbach's α of this variable is

We developed a six-item scale to assess participants’ fears of COVID-19 infection. Six items included “In public, I don't care about touching the door handle without protection,” “In public, I don’t mind sitting in a chair that has just been sat on,” “In an elevator, I don’t mind pushing a button without protection,” “When I’m in a crowded place, I don’t worry about coronavirus from other people,” “I don't worry about infection if other people don't wear masks,” “Wearing a mask would make me feel safe.” In the current study, Cronbach's α of this variable is .842. The results of confirmatory factor analysis are shown that χ2 = 74.424; df = 8; RMSEA = .098; CFI =.982; TLI = .966; SRMR = .043. Thus, this scale has acceptable reliability and validity.

The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale [55] was used to measure the student’s stress level in the past month. Participants responded to the items on a 5-point scale (from1=never to 5=very often). A sample item is “In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and “stressed”?” In our research, Cronbach's α of this variable is .792.

The CHQ-12 of the Chinese version was used to measure physical and psychological health. The CHQ-12 has been widely used in Chinese populations. The 12 items included headaches, heart palpitations, chest pain or tightening, trembling or pins and needles, sleeplessness, nervousness, and hopelessness. Participants responded to the items on a 4-point scale (1= not at all, 4=more than usual). A higher score represented a more severe psychosocial impairment. In our research, Cronbach's α of this variable is .895.

Please see Page 24 Line 622- Page 26 Line 677:

1. I am spending a lot of time thinking about how this semester’s grades could negatively affect my educational and career goals.

2. I am worrying a great deal about the effect this semester’s grades will have on my future.

3. I find myself very concerned about the grades I am likely to receive this semester.

1. I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on my group.

2. I sometimes worry that I will be hurt if I allow myself to become too close to my group.

3. I am nervous when my group gets too close.

4. My desire to feel completely at one sometimes scares my group away.

5. I prefer not to depend on my group or to have my group depend on me.

6. I often worry that my group does not really accept me.

7. I am comfortable not being close to my group.

8. I often worry my group will not always want me as a member.

9. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to my group.

10. My group is never there when I need it.

11. I find it difficult to completely trust my group.

12. I find my group is reluctant to get as close as I would like.

13. I am not sure that I can always depend on my group to be there when I need it.

14. I sometimes worry that my group doesn't value me as much as I value my group.

15. I want to be emotionally close with my group, but I find it difficult to trust my group completely or to depend on my group.

1. In public, I don't care about touching the door handle without protection.

2. In public, I don’t mind sitting in a chair that has just been sat on.

3. In an elevator, I don’t mind pushing a button without protection.

4. When I’m in a crowded place, I don't worry about coronavirus from other people.

5. I don't worry about infection if other people don't wear masks.

6. Wearing a mask would make me feel safe.

1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?

2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?

3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and “stressed”?

4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?

5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?

6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?

7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?

8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?

9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control?

10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?

Have you recently...

1. been suffering from headache or pressure in your head?

2. had palpitation and worried that you might have heart trouble?

3. had discomfort or a feeling of pressure in your chest?

4. been suffering from shaking or numbness of your limbs?

5. lost much sleep through worry?

6. been taking things hard?

7. been getting along well with your family or friends?

8. been losing confidence in yourself?

9. been feeling nervous and strung-up all the time?

10. been feeling hopeful about your future?

11. been worried about your family or close friends?

12. felt that life is entirely hopeless?

Thank you very much for your advice. Following your suggestion, we have added the sub-title and provide more details about the types of analytic tools used, the purposes for using them and so on.

Please see Page 12 Line 297- Line 314:

First, we conducted a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in order to test the discriminant validity of the five prime constructs (academic workload, separation from school, fears of contagion, perceived stress, and health). CFA, as an empirical research technology, is affiliated with structural equation modeling. Therefore, it is necessary to judge the fitting situation according to the fitting indexes from the structural equation model. Common fitting indexes include chi-square(χ2), degree of freedom (df), CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and SRMR. Specifically, if the ratio of chi square to degree of freedom is less than 5, the model is generally acceptable. When CFI and TLI are higher than 0.9, the model fits well. The smaller the RMSEA and SRMR, the better the result, and in particular, when it is below 0.08, the model is acceptable. Second, we performed Harman’s single-factor test to explore the potential influence of common method variance. No single factor accounting for more than 50% of the variance of all the relevant items indicates that the results are acceptable. Third, we calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficient using SPSS Version 21, which reflects the effect of change in one variable when the other variable changes. Fourth, we tested our hypotheses using a path analysis in Mplus Version 8.3. To examine mediation (Hypothesis 5,6, and 7), we used a bootstrap simulation with 1,000 replications to create our bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals (CIs) around our indirect effects. The bootstrap approach is a more robust strategy than the causal step procedure for small samples for assessing indirect effects and a useful method for avoiding power problems relating to a non-normal sampling of the indirect effect. When the 95% confidence interval of the path coefficient does not contain zero, the mediating effect is significant.

Thank you very much for your advice. First, we revised the first sentence under this sub-section and make it complete. Second, we deleted the section of categorical variables in Table 3. Third, we provide more details about the analysis/data.

Please see Page 13 Line 332- Line 338:

Tests for Common Method Variance

Because we collected student’s self-report of fears of contagion, separation from school, academic workload, and perceived stress and health in the study, common method variance (CMV) may present as a problem. Therefore, we measured different constructs at different time points to decrease common method variance as much as possible [56] and showed high respect for the security, anonymity, and privacy of research objects and informants. In addition, the results of Harman’s single-factor test suggest that an exploratory factor analysis of all items explained 68.86% of the total variance, and the largest factor accounted for only 24.73% of the variance.

Please see Page 14 Line 348- Line 349:

Please see Page 15 Line 372- Line 374:

Thank you very much for your advice. We have revised this confused sentence.

Please see Page 15 Line 375- Line 388:

The spread of COVID-19 is becoming unstoppable and has already influenced people and countries all over the world. Holmes et al. [57] called for that multidisciplinary science research must be central to the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provide evidence-based guidance on responding to promoting people’s health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. To answer this call, we focus on college students getting home-schooling to explore their stress and health problems. Although the COVID-19 is still spreading rapidly and widely worldwide, it has been effectively controlled in China. What has happened in China shows that quarantine, social distancing, and isolation of infected populations can contain the epidemic. Whereas individual coping strategies are possible (e.g., social distancing), the spread of the virus at a state level is still beyond any given individual’s control. The continuous spread of the epidemic, strict isolation measures, and delays in starting schools, colleges, and universities across the country are expected to influence college students. Considering stress and anxiety associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic for college students [49], it is urgent for the society and management departments to understand the actual situation of college students timely and accurately.

Thank you very much for your advice. Following your suggestion, we integrated theory with our findings thoroughly in the revised manuscript.

Please see Page 15 Line 375- Page 17 Line 432:

The spread of COVID-19 is becoming unstoppable and has already influenced people and countries all over the world. Holmes et al. [57] called for that multidisciplinary science research must be central to the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provide evidence-based guidance on responding to promoting people’s health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. To answer this call, we focus on college students getting home-schooling to explore their stress and health problems. Although the COVID-19 is still spreading rapidly and widely worldwide, it has been effectively controlled in China. What has happened in China shows that quarantine, social distancing, and isolation of infected populations can contain the epidemic. Whereas individual coping strategies are possible (e.g., social distancing), the spread of the virus at a state level is still beyond any given individual’s control. The continuous spread of the epidemic, strict isolation measures, and delays in starting schools, colleges, and universities across the country are expected to influence college students. Considering stress and anxiety associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic for college students [49], it is urgent for the society and management departments to understand the actual situation of college students timely and accurately. Based on the Transactional Model of Stress and coping [49], this study explored the influence of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion on college students’ physical and physiological health, as well as the mediating effect of perceived stress in those relationships.

The current study contributes to the existing literature. First, the present study goes beyond previous literature on college students’ health during the epidemic by integrating three types of stressors from different fields in the proposed model. As highlighted in previous research on college students’ academic stress, preparing exams, courses, and papers should exhibit a negative effect on individual health. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese college students’ learning was not suspended, but they attend the various courses offered online follow the regular schedule. While those measures of the virtual semester ensure regular study, they also cause stress on students. In addition, given the importance of social groups to an individual’s identity and self-worth, we found that college students were separated from their classmates during the COVID-19 epidemic, which brought them stress and anxiety. Previous evidence suggests that college students usually keep attachment relationships with their social group [12,58]. Attachment figures are usually parents, but may also be siblings, grandparents, or group. Unlike most previous studies that focused on separation from parents [9], this study focused on the influence of departure from school and schoolmates, which is particularly relevant to the epidemic situation. For college students attached to their school or classmates, school-closure is a kind of separation experience, which may be different from their experience when they leave home. Considering the relatively new separation (separation from school) caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, our findings suggest that separation from school was positively related to college students’ perceived stress during home-schooling. Finally, we found that exposure to a potentially infectious environment would lead to people’s stress, which is in line with previous research that pointed out the negative correlation between the risk of infection and life satisfaction [58]. Similar results have been found in the study of College Students’ psychological adjustment during SARS. For example, Main et al. [12] found that the experience of SARS-related stressors was positively associated with psychological symptoms for Chinese college students during the outbreak. Thus, we supposed that during an acute large-scale epidemic such as the SARS and COVID-19 epidemic, even among persons who were not directly contaminated with the disease, the psychological influence of the outbreak on them was significant. In doing so, we identified three important stressors for college students in the COVID-19 pandemic, providing essential inspiration for college students to maintain their physical and mental health during the current epidemic.

Second, based on a transactional model view, we provide a plausible mechanism for explaining the association between academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion and health. The transactional model posits that stress responses emerge from appraisal processes that begin when individuals experience a stressor. During primary appraisal, perceptions of elements of the focal stressor are used to determine the degree of threat or harm that this stressor represents; during secondary appraisal, individuals consider if and how they can resolve the underlying stressor. COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness, is an ongoing, global health crisis, and the greatest challenge we have faced since World War II [59]. The COVID-19 pandemic is a grim but illustrative anxiety-inducing stressor; an uncertain and ongoing threat that cannot be resolved via individual efforts. When individuals have few resources, ways, or abilities at their disposal to deal with the stressors, they generate stress and anxiety and ultimately lead to negative consequences. Thus, perceived stress may be a mediator, transmitting the effects of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion on health-related outcomes. These findings suggest that academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion may contribute to youth’s general perceived stress, which in turn, may negatively influence their physical and psychological health. Our findings supported Lorenzo-Blanco and Unger’s [60] and Sariçam’s [61] proposition that perceived stress plays an important role in influencing psychological well-being.

Thank you very much for your advice. Following your suggestion, we explained “SFS” from the point of attachment in the revised manuscript. From a supporting/coping strategy, we provided some advice to help college students keep healthy when they separate from school.

Please see Page 16 Line 397- Line 406:

In addition, given the importance of social groups to an individual’s identity and self-worth, we found that college students were separated from their classmates during the COVID-19 epidemic, which brought them stress and anxiety. Previous evidence suggests that college students usually keep attachment relationships with their social group [12,58]. Attachment figures are usually parents, but may also be siblings, grandparents, or group. Unlike most previous studies that focused on separation from parents [9], this study focused on the influence of departure from school and schoolmates, which is particularly relevant to the epidemic situation. For college students attached to their school or classmates, school-closure is a kind of separation experience, which may be different from their experience when they leave home. Considering the relatively new separation (separation from school) caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, our findings suggest that separation from school was positively related to college students’ perceived stress during home-schooling.

Thank you very much for your advice. We revised this point in the revised manuscript. Although we used a time-lagged design to collect data at different times, future research can conduct the experimental design or utilize the longitudinal data to ensure the conclusion reflects causation.

Please see Page 18 Line 445- Page 18 Line 458:

Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.DOCX

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25 Jan 2021

College students’ stress and health in the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagion

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Essay on Stress On Students

Students are often asked to write an essay on Stress On Students in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Stress On Students

Stress on students: a pressing concern.

Stress has become a significant problem for students of all ages. Many factors, such as academic pressure, social expectations, and family issues, can contribute to stress in students.

Impact On Students’ Well-being:

Stress can negatively affect students’ physical and mental health. It can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Physically, stress can cause headaches, stomach aches, and other physical symptoms.

Effects on Academic Performance:

Stress can interfere with students’ ability to learn and focus in school. When students are stressed, they may have difficulty paying attention, remembering information, and solving problems. This can lead to lower grades and a decreased interest in school.

Coping With Stress:

Students need to learn effective ways to manage stress. Some helpful strategies include:

• Talking to a trusted adult about their concerns.
• Getting regular exercise.
• Eating a healthy diet.
• Getting enough sleep.
• Practicing relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or meditation.
• Learning time management skills.
• Seeking professional help if needed.

Conclusion:

Student stress is a serious issue that can impact their physical and mental health, as well as their academic performance. By recognizing the signs of stress and learning effective coping strategies, students can take control of their stress and improve their overall well-being.

250 Words Essay on Stress On Students

Stress on students.

School children always experience stress. Stress can be influenced by various factors including exams, relations with peers, and expectations from parents and teachers. A little bit of stress can be helpful as it can motivate a child to study harder and perform better. However, too much stress can be harmful. It can cause physical symptoms, such as headaches and stomachaches and emotional symptoms, such as anxiety and depression.

Causes of Stress In Students

Stress in students can be caused by a variety of factors, including academic pressure, extracurricular activities, and social interactions. Academic pressure can be a major source of stress for students. Students may feel stressed about getting good grades, taking tests, and meeting the expectations of their parents and teachers. Extracurricular activities can also be a source of stress, especially if students are trying to balance their academic and extracurricular commitments. Social interactions can also be a source of stress for students, especially if they are struggling to make friends or fit in.

Effects of Stress on Students

Stress can have a negative impact on students’ physical and mental health. Physically, stress can lead to headaches, stomachaches, and sleep problems. Mentally, stress can lead to anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating. Stress can also make it more difficult for students to learn and remember information.

Coping with Stress

There are a number of things that students can do to cope with stress. These include:

• Talking to a trusted adult, such as a parent, teacher, or counselor.
• Exercising regularly.
• Eating healthy foods.
• Learning how to relax and manage stress.

If stress is severe, it is important to seek professional help. A therapist can help students to identify the sources of their stress and develop coping mechanisms.

500 Words Essay on Stress On Students

What is stress.

Stress is a feeling we get when we are worried or uncomfortable about something. This feeling can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. In the case of students, stress is a very common experience. It often comes from the pressure of exams, homework, and the need to balance school with other activities.

Causes of Stress in Students

One of the main reasons students feel stressed is because of the pressure to do well in exams. Many students feel they have to get the best grades to be successful in the future. This pressure can come from their parents, teachers, or even themselves. Another reason is the amount of homework and assignments they have to complete. Sometimes, there is so much work that students don’t know how to manage their time well. This can make them feel overwhelmed and stressed.

Besides academic pressure, students also face stress from trying to fit in with their peers. This includes making friends, dealing with bullies, or trying to be part of a group. Social media also adds to this stress because students often compare themselves with others online.

Stress can affect students in many ways. It can make it hard for them to concentrate on their studies, leading to lower grades. It can also make them feel tired all the time and cause headaches or stomach aches. In some cases, students might feel so overwhelmed that they don’t want to go to school anymore.

Stress doesn’t just affect students’ health; it also affects their behavior. Some students might become irritable or angry easily, while others might withdraw and stop talking to their friends and family. This can make them feel lonely and even more stressed.

Dealing with Stress

The good news is there are ways to deal with stress. One of the most important things students can do is to manage their time well. This means making a schedule and sticking to it, so they have enough time for study, rest, and play. Taking short breaks while studying can also help to clear the mind and reduce stress.

Talking to someone about how you’re feeling can also make a big difference. This could be a friend, family member, or teacher. They can offer support and advice on how to cope with stress. Additionally, doing things you enjoy, like playing a sport, reading, or listening to music, can help take your mind off stress.

In conclusion, stress is a common issue that many students face. It comes from academic pressure, too much homework, and social issues. Stress can have negative effects on students’ health and behavior, but there are ways to manage it. By organizing their time, taking breaks, and talking to someone about their feelings, students can reduce their stress levels and enjoy their school life more.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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• Essay on Stress Management
• Essay on Stress In Life
• Essay on Stress Impact On Health

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Essay Sample on Causes and Effects of Stress on Students, With Outline

Published by gudwriter on January 4, 2021 January 4, 2021

Cause and Effects Essay Outline About Stress Among Students

Introduction.

Stress in students may have serious harmful effects and thus needs to be addressed.

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Paragraph 1:

One of the causes of stress in students is poor sleeping habits.

• Students who do not get enough sleep at night or lack healthy sleeping habits are likely to develop stress.
• Enough sleep allows the brain and body of a student to relax and recharge.
• Lack of it can limit a student’s ability to learn, concentrate and solve problems.

Paragraph 2:

Student stress is caused by academic pressure.

• They are given homework assignments.
• They have classroom assignments and term papers that are supposed to be completed and submitted in strict deadlines.
• Pressure to do well from those close to them such as family, friends, and teachers.

Paragraph 3:

Student stress may result from poor nutrition and unhealthy eating habits.

• Stress-inducing foods are those that have high refined carbohydrates, sugar, caffeine, and fat.
• A stress-reducing diet is made up of foods that are high in complex carbohydrates and fiber and low in fat content.

Paragraph 4: 

High stress levels could make students develop physical symptoms that could negatively affect their academic performance.

• When a student experiences these symptoms, they might not feel the motivation they once felt about doing their best on academic tasks.
• The symptoms are detrimental to the health of students.

Paragraph 5:

Stress makes students to have poor management skills.

• A student could become disorganized and uncertain about their priorities and goals.
• They become incapable of effectively budgeting and managing their time.
• They develop a tendency of procrastinating and neglecting responsibilities.

Paragraph 6:

Stress leads to self-defeating thoughts.

• A student under stress may consistently think about the adversity or negative situation in which they are.
• They could constantly focus on their weaknesses and failures.

Paragraph 7: 

There are various stress management strategies students may take to reduce stress.

• Get regular physical activity and practice.
• Spend quality time with friends and family, and keeping a sense of humor.
• Find time for such hobbies as listening to music, playing football, and reading a book.
• Get enough sleep and consume balanced diet.
• Stress in students cause serious negative effects, both physical and academic.
• It results from poor sleeping habits, academic pressure, and poor nutrition and unhealthy eating habits.
• It results into physical symptoms, poor management skills, and self-defeating thoughts.
• Parents and teachers should work together to ensure that students do not experience much stress.

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A Cause and Effect Essay on Stress in Students

Stress is the natural response the human body gives to challenges. Students are exposed to stress by various factors. When a student undergoes chronic stress or high stress levels, their ability to learn, memorize, and post good academic performances can be interfered with regardless of their age or grade. Stress can also make a student experience poor mental, emotional, and physical health. Teachers and parents may help students avoid chronic stress in their lives if they learn about and develop a good understanding of common stressors. Stress in students may have serious harmful effects and thus needs to be addressed.

One of the causes of stress in students is poor sleeping habits. Compared to students who get plenty of sleep, students who do not get enough sleep at night or lack healthy sleeping habits are likely to develop stress. Enough sleep allows the brain and body of a student to relax and recharge. It also helps in ensuring that the immune system remains strong. On the other hand, lack of enough sleep can limit a student’s ability to learn, concentrate, and solve problems and can also make them more aggressive. According to Hales and Hales (2016), it is recommended by the National Sleep Foundation that young people, especially students, should maintain a regular sleep schedule and that they should sleep for between 8.5 and 9.25 hours per night.

Another major cause of student stress is academic pressure. As teachers prepare students for standardized tests, they give them homework even if the students are as young as six only. In addition to these homework assignments, there are classroom assignments and term papers that are supposed to be completed and submitted in strict deadlines. The pressure that comes from these assignments coupled with the desire by students to succeed academically culminates into stress. Students also experience pressure to do well in their academic work from those close to them such as family, friends, and even teachers (Raju, 2009). They therefore feel so much pushed that they even resort to academic dishonesty such as cheating in exams so as to match these high expectations.

A student’s stress levels can also increase due to poor nutrition and unhealthy eating habits. Foods that are associated with high stress levels in students include those that have high refined carbohydrates, sugar, caffeine, and fat. This is the case with many types of fast, processed, and convenience foods. Examples of foods that induce stress include French fries, white bread, processed snack foods, candy bars, donuts, energy drinks, and sodas (Kumar, 2015). A healthy stress-reducing diet is made up of foods that are high in complex carbohydrates and fiber and low in fat content. Examples of such foods include lean proteins, nuts, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.

It is noteworthy that high stress levels can make students develop physical symptoms that could negatively affect their academic performance. These signs and symptoms include chest pain, elevated blood pressure, stomach upset, mumbled or rapid speech, nervous habits such as fidgeting, back and neck pains, tremors and trembling of lips, and frequent headaches (Kumar, 2015). When a student experiences these symptoms, they might not feel the motivation they once felt about doing their best in such academic tasks as completing assignments or preparing for tests. Moreover, the symptoms are detrimental to the health of students, a factor which may father make their academic fortunes to dwindle.

Stress also makes students to have poor management skills. A student could become disorganized and uncertain about their priorities and goals as a result of suffering from high levels of stress. This could further make them incapable of effectively budgeting and managing their time. Moreover, highly stressed students have the tendency to procrastinate and neglect such important responsibilities as meeting deadlines and completing assignments (Hales & Hales, 2016). This, of course, negatively impacts the quality of their academic work and study skills.

High stress levels could further lead to self-defeating thoughts among students. While undergoing stress, it is likely that a student may consistently think about the adversity or negative situation in which they find themselves. In addition, they could constantly focus on their weaknesses and failures while ignoring their strengths and achievements. These are self-defeating thoughts that not only deal a blow to their self-esteem but also affect how they behave and how they feel both as humans and as students (Patel, 2016). They result into a student lacking confidence in their abilities and this negatively impacts their success in school since they cannot perform to their highest potential.

There are various stress management strategies students may take to reduce stress. One of these is to get regular physical activity and practice such relaxation techniques as massage, tai chi, yoga, meditation, and deep breathing. Students may also keep stress away by spending quality time with friends and family, and keeping a sense of humor. Another strategy may be to find time for such hobbies as listening to music, playing football, and reading a book. It is also important that one gets enough sleep and consumes balanced diet (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2019). These strategies may both alleviate and prevent stress among students.

Stress in students cause serious negative effects, both physical and academic. Students may experience stress due to poor sleeping habits, academic pressure, and poor nutrition and unhealthy eating habits. Students need enough sleep and less pressure for their brain to relax and recharge for it to function well. They also need to avoid stress-inducing foods such as fries and sodas. As has been seen, high stress levels could lead to physical symptoms, poor management skills, and self-defeating thoughts among students. As such, parents and teachers should work together in ensuring that students do not experience much stress because it is not good for their health and academic ability.

Hales, D., & Hales, J. (2016). Personal stress management: surviving to thriving . Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Kumar, N. (2015). Psychological stress among science students . New York, NY: Springer.

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019). “Stress symptoms: effects on your body and behavior”. Mayo Clinic . Retrieved March 27, 2020 from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987

Patel, G. (2016). An achievement motivation and academic anxiety of school going students . Lunawada: Red’shine Publication. Inc.

Raju, M. V. (2009). Health psychology and counselling . Delhi, India: Discovery Publishing House.

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Dive into the complex web of stressors and their consequences for students in our comprehensive essay. To amplify the impact of your talk, use our innovative speech generator to craft engaging speeches.

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Causes Of Stress In College Students

College students and stress.

College Students In our society, various factors can attribute to the cause of stress which can affect or destabilize the functioning of an individual. However, many from various sects of life go through stress once, twice or more in their lifetime. Colleges provide for new students the idea of unlimited freedom which inspires the student and make such individuals zealous and very motivated, but little is said about the demand and responsibility that is expected from the student.

Herein lays the stress.

Firstly, in community colleges, bulk of the study and understanding of educational materials re left for the students to realize by him/her self. And most students in community colleges tend to Joggle one or more duties in their life with school, most of who might be working to either pay for tuition or take care of self. As a result, creating little or no time for study or abundant understanding of a given subject, and this can cause a lot of stress for the student, who in turn would have to worry about passing the class and having to pay the tuition whichever way the class ends.

What Are The Causes Of Stress In College Students

Secondly, another factor that can be responsible for stress is relationship and peer pressure which are rarely talked about. Since most students are responsible for themselves, some tend to drift away or mix with the wrong crowd which later becomes a source of problem along the line as most face the pressure of having to experiment with things such as drugs, sexual activities and the likes which might not have originally been a pattern of life for such Individuals, therefore, having to contend with this pressure can be very stressful and painstaking.

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Furthermore, another factor that can be added to the cause of stress In community college students can be the freedom of having to select classes and course schedules at one’s desired discretion. In comparison with four- year College/unlettered where class schedules are already set, one can hardly manipulate the pace at which one completes his/her studies. The same cannot be said of community colleges as students are given a list of classes and are expected to select at various times classes they desire to take, which can be stressful for some who are undecided or those that do not know the sequence In which there classes should follow.

And this can cause a lot of student to select Irrelevant classes which might not be needed for their desired course of study. However, the knowledge of such error or misunderstanding can cause emotional stress for students who would have had a set time for graduation to now realize they still need some more classes or that the classes they took were Irrelevant. In conclusion, financial problems, peer pressure, relationships, and Increased responsibility can be said to contribute to the causes of stress for community college students.

However, the ability to correctly balance and regulate one’s commitments and duties can help In the reduction of stress. After all, colleges In general have stress, It all depends on how one deals with he hustling and bustling of college life as this helps In setting the stage for future responsibility which If one overcomes now would pay Off great deal In one’s life.

Causes of Stress in Community College Students By deejays for such individuals, therefore, having to contend with this pressure can be very cause of stress in community college students can be the freedom of having to select year College/Universities where class schedules are already set, one can hardly who are undecided or those that do not know the sequence in which there classes should follow. And this can cause a lot of student to select irrelevant classes which r that the classes they took were irrelevant.

In conclusion, financial problems, peer pressure, relationships, and increased responsibility can be said to contribute to the causes of stress for community college students. However, the ability to correctly balance and regulate one’s commitments and duties can help in the reduction of stress. After all, colleges in general have stress, it all depends on how one deals with the hustling and bustling of college life as this helps in setting the stage for future responsibility which if one overcomes now would pay Off great deal in one’s life.

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5 Causes of Stress in College Students

Stress is a normal part of college life. It's the first time many students are both away from home and responsible for doing well academically.

A little stress is actually good, as it motivates students to overcome challenges. However, too much stress can negatively impact a student's mind and body, which can result in a variety of issues. Today, we're taking a closer look at several of the most common causes of stress in college students so you're prepared to handle even the most stressful situations.

Here are 5 causes of stress in college students.

Causes of Stress in College Students

Some may think college students do not experience a lot of stress. They think all a student must do is show up for class, pass some tests and graduate. This is not true, however. Stress among college students can be overwhelming and can affect many areas of a student’s life.

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The American Psychological Association reports 45% of students seeking help in college are doing so because of stress. Anxiety and depression are also among the top reasons and often are related to their stressors.

There are at least five major areas of stress in a college student’s life. These are discussed below in more detail.

Financial Stress

Every student has concerns about finances. They worry about how they will pay for classes, how they will repay loans, and how they will pay for housing and necessities while living on very little income. Even those students who have parents covering the full cost of college stress over money.

Most students do not want to burden their parents with the cost of college, but they know they need financial help. This can lead to the student feeling guilty about spending their parents’ money, so they take out more financial aid.

Students graduate from college with a loan debt from $25,000 to $125,000 or more.

Many choose to work part-time while in college to help them pay for classes, books, and living. Working part-time takes away from the time needed to study.

Financial debt can lead to stress about what type of job they can land post-college.

Job Outlook Stress

Students must consider jobs that will help them pay off their loans as quickly as possible.  But not all jobs available can provide this advantage. For instance, students may go into $70,000 of debt to get a bachelor’s degree in psychology. They may not realize that a bachelor’s degree in psychology typically only allows you to get a job making between $25,000 and $40,000.

Stress comes from realizing they will not be able to pay off their loans for many years. Stress becomes higher when students realize they must have qualities that stand out from all the other job candidates. This means getting involved in more work, volunteer work or extracurricular activities.

Believe it or not, job searching, and applications can create stress. With so many graduating students fighting for the same starting job, students begin to feel as if they want to give up avoiding rejections and denials.

Students may feel their academic success is one way to outshine competitors. Therefore, they push themselves academically to achieve the highest grades and honors. This can lead to academic stress.

Academic Stress

The requirements from one class alone can be daunting. Most professors ask students to complete homework assignments, readings and prepare for exams. In addition, some require students to write research papers, journals and participate in out-of-class activities.

Combine all those activities and multiply them by four, five or six other classes, then you can recognize how stressful it can before college students.

Not all academic stress comes from the professor, however. Some of it comes from having poor time management, and some of it comes from the parents or guardians of the students.

Family Stress

Well-meaning parents often put unnecessary stress on students. They may think they are helping them by placing high expectations on them. But many times, it creates higher stress also.

Families are not perfect. All the imperfections your family may have can lead to an overload of stress. Some of the issues faced by families, that can create stress for students, include divorce, family finances, and poor communication.

Many students attending college want to please their parents, even if the parents reassure them they are pleased no matter what. It is an internal drive to make parents proud, to show them they are not wasting their money.

College students are trying to find their independence while balancing that with a dependency on their families. They cannot be free while they continue to receive support from family members. And they cannot reach their goals without being dependent on family.

Achieving this balance can create a lot of stress.

Everything Else Stress

Aside from academics, family and the worries about finding a job after graduation, there is everything else that goes on in a student’s life that creates stress.

Peer pressure is one of these stressors. Students can face peer pressure multiple times throughout any single day in college. In each class, the cafeteria, and in the dorm room, they talk to others who pressure them to skip their responsibilities to attend a party, concert or other activity.

Many times, they are pressured further to engage in damaging behaviors, like drugs and alcohol. These activities can lead to poor decisions with dangerous consequences, like sexual assaults.

Other stressors include being homesick, academic or personal competition, personal pressure to do well, social anxieties, and heavy workloads.

Students also feel stress when they get too little sleep, a poor diet and even from having too much downtime. Being expected to speak up in class, being disorganized and having a fear of change can lead to anxiety among students.

All these stressors can be treated and overcome.

Beat Stress in College

Campuses offer counseling services to students. Some colleges have established connections with external agencies to help students treat stress.

You can start with the on-campus counseling department. With a counselor, you can create a plan of action to help you beat stress. This may include weekly counseling, or it may include using other methods of destressing.

Some agencies provide peer mentoring to students. This allows you to get help from people your own age, other college students, who have succeeded at overcoming the stressors of college.

If further help is needed, you may choose to take part in longer-term counseling on campus. Or, you may find changing your residential surroundings to a more therapeutic environment is needed.

No matter what your stressor, there is help available on campus.

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Essay on the Causes of Stress for College Students

gerel 1 / -   Apr 8, 2007   #1 The Causes of Stress for College Students Stress is basically defined as an applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body. It is usually caused by something that is out of the ordinary from everyday life, things like tests, family problems and loss of job. Today students have a lot of stress because of a lot of different reasons. There are many things that cause stress for college students; school-related issues, relationships, and peer pressure. One of the main causes of stress is adapting to the new life which we have suddenly landed in. For me it is the first time that I have lived outside the nurturing and protective security of the family unit. My parents used to provide for me materially and used to set down boundaries on how to live. This no longer applies in college and one of the first tasks that I should undertake is to find an identity and effectively test the rules that were set out by my parents. The uncertainty and lack of identity is a common cause of stress for me. School-related issues also cause stress for students these days. It can be caused by them doing so badly in college that they gave up all hope of doing something worthwhile with their lives, or it could be caused by just not living up to their own standards. Stress also creates the way people deal with things like smoking and drinking, which are worse ways of dealing with stress. I think that these are some of the most common ways to deal with it. For example, one of my friends likes to go out and drink when he feels stressed about doing badly on a test or paper. Another cause of college stress is relationships. Relationship stress can be caused by not living up to their partner's expectation or just plainly by breaking up with someone that they really did care for. Also, it can be caused by an individual liking someone a lot and the finding that feeling is not mutual. All of these aspects can cause students to feel like they are in way over their heads. Most students use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to relieve stress. That's why for some college students stress makes them sick and their immune system gets run down. Moreover, the cause of the stress is peer pressure. Peer pressure is when "friends" persuade you to doing something that you do not want to do. But maybe you want to do it, and you just don't have the courage to do it and your friends talk you into it. Peer Pressure can be broken down into two areas; good peer pressure and bad peer pressure. Bad peer pressure is being coerced into doing something that you didn't want to do because your friends said that you should. Friends have a tendency to think that they know what is best for you, and if your friends are like some of ours, they always offer their opinion whether it is wanted or not. Many students are vulnerable to bad peer-pressure because they are afraid of being rejected, losing friends, being teased and they don't know how to say "NO". Some students don't think about the consequences and they can't explain why they are not interested that's why peer-pressure can cause stress. In my opinion, to overcome stress we need to balance academic demands and the social demands of college. Socializing and being surrounded by positive people is an important aspect of overcoming stress. It helps to have real supportive people that you like a lot in your life who want you to succeed, especially during finals. There are several strategies that will help us to cope with stressful situations. First, we have to learn to manage our time wisely. Second, we have to set priorities and make the most of our opportunities as a student. Last, we have to learn to say "NO". After all, college students have a lot of stress. There's no denying it, but college is what we make of it. If we stay focused and balance our life, we'll feel much more relaxed and healthier when it's time to wear our cap and gown. Now, that's an achievement we have earned for life!

EF_Team2 1 / 1,708   Apr 9, 2007   #2 Greetings! I think you've written a great essay! You do a good job of transitioning from one paragraph to the next and presenting the causes of the problem and some solutions. I have just a few editing suggestions for you: "Stress is basically defined as an applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body." - This sounds like you're describing G-forces on an aircraft; see if you can find a definition that fits better with the particular type of stress you're writing about, i.e., emotional stress. "It can be caused by their doing so badly in college that they give up all hope" "caused by an individual liking someone a lot and [omit the] finding that feeling is not mutual." "Peer p ressure can be broken down into two areas : good peer pressure and bad peer pressure." "NO". - Put the period inside the quotation mark (unless you're British): "NO." Great work! Thanks, Sarah, EssayForum.com