College days are crucial in any student’s life. One’s career and future are determined by how well they perform in their studies while in college. However, amidst the increased pressure of being successful and a competent professional, academic life has become highly stressful for students in the present scenario. College time is stressful for many students as it is that stage of their life where they are exposed to new educational and social environments.
As defined by Gupta and Khan in 1987, academic stress is the mental distress related to anticipated frustration, associated with academic failure. Academic stress is one of the significant predictors of decreased academic performance and personal well-being in college students. Let’s explore some of the potential academic stressors and strategies for its effective management.
Major Academic Stressors
The significant academic stressors affecting students’ lives could be categorized as personal issues and academic issues.
Personal issues mainly deal with internal and external locus of control. Emotional issues such as self-imposed stress, frustration, and fear of failure, as well as motivational problems like low motivation, heightened expectations, and poor time management, arising from their thoughts and feelings and thus affect them internally.
Apart from issues emerging from one’s intellect, conflicts with significant others like high expectations from parents, unfair treatment from relationships, financial issues, competition with peers, adverse teacher-student relationships, and adjustment or communication problems in team works are also potential academic stressors that negatively impact one’s external locus of control.
Another major causal factor of academic stress among students comprises academic factors like academic overload, college environment, and insecurities about career and future. Academic overload occurs when students are bombarded with excess information when their processing abilities are below what they are exposed to.
Academic overload can lead to decreased academic performance and decision accuracy in students. Additionally, examinations, overburdened assignments and presentations, and high-weightage components contribute to academic overload. Parental force on students to score high in exams also becomes a major source of anxiety for students. The students have to work very hard to complete their assignments on deadlines and a stressful schedule causes a lot of academic pressure. Furthermore, the college environment can also act as a stressor because of inadequate resources, lack of research facilities, and different educational setups.
Academic Stress Management
Previous studies have mainly focused on managing academic stress caused by personal problems using CBT and behaviour modification techniques. However, other stressors are not well managed despite the findings that those factors contribute significantly to academic stress as well. Thus we require a comprehensive stress management system where each stressor could be managed using appropriate strategy.
Internal problems under personal issues could be managed using cognitive-behaviour therapies like REBT, cognitive restructuring, self-monitoring, cognitive hypothesis testing, stress inoculation technique, cognitive-affective stress management training, and emotion-focused coping.
Behaviour modification techniques such as reduction of breathing rate, Jacobson progressive muscle relaxation (JPMR), development of alternate emotional responses to threatening stimulus, laughter technique, and super brain yoga could also be used for academic stress management. On the other hand, external problems under personal issues could be managed using peer counselling, holding realistic expectations, faculty advising, and maintaining a social network and good relationships with friends and peers.
Regarding academic factors, academic overload could be managed using reactive strategies including personal discipline and schedule, and reactive strategies including training and technological assistance. Besides, the college environment could be made more favourable by making the college less competitive and student-friendly as well as by incorporating peer counselling and stress management training as part of the curriculum. Finally, stress caused by career and future insecurities could be managed using counselling vocational guidance, and problem-focused coping.
Development of less competitive college environments, regular and periodic extracurricular activities, obtaining feedback from students, and addressing their complaints enable to building more student-friendly environment inside the college campus. Stress management education could be incorporated as part of the curriculum since it is found to be an effective technique for reducing academic stress by Waghachavare et al. in 2013.
Unrealistic and higher expectations from teachers, parents, and students themselves should be reduced and made more realistic according to the student’s academic performance.
In today’s competitive world, extreme academic stress is responsible for causing learning problems in the majority of students. If academic stress is left without consideration, it not only decreases the academic efficiency of students but also adversely impacts their personal wellness and physical as well as psychological health. Thus, management of academic stress is inevitable in students, especially college students as they are more prone to societal pressure and career orientation.
Self-management and perseverance are necessary to motivate and manage oneself among students. Apart from that, institutions have to maintain a well-balanced academic environment for better learning, with a focus on the student’s personal needs. Students differ in their expectations and goals which they want to achieve and their success is possible only if their motives are aligned with that of the institution. Academic stress among college students is highly prevalent and challenging, that it necessitates the development of effective and efficient programs for stress management
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