High Schoolers’ Study Skills: Do Sources of Distress Really Matter? A Cross Sectional Study at a Community School Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Student’s academic excellence in studies depends mainly on their study skills, which is a powerful construct that affects self-efficacy and wellbeing. This relationship is interrelated and bi-directional. The aim of this study was to measure the study skills, find the key stressors and determine the relationship between study skills and distress symptoms among high school students. Methods: The study was carried out in February 2020, at a community owned non-profit International English medium school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In this cross-sectional-correlational study, convenience sampling strategy was used. Participants filled the demographic questionnaire along with the Study Skills Inventory (SSI) and Kessler psychological distress scale (K10). The statistical analysis used t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression. Results: The mean total SSI score was 43.15 ± 8.26 out of a possible total of 69. The total SSI score was higher (45.46+ 8.162) for female as compared to their male counterparts (41.23+ 7.86) and was statistically significant (p=0.001). A statistically significant association was found between the student’s sex (p = 0.000) and the reading skills and time management (p = 0.001). Furthermore, the study year had statistically significant associations with time management (p =0.008), reading (p =0.039) and other learning skills (p = 0.011). The regression analysis revealed a satisfactory model that explained the total variance indicating that gender (p= 0.000, β=4.55), year of study (p= 0.018, β=3.131) and encouraging teachers’ (p= 0.001, β= 4.46) were significant predictors that have an impact on study skills. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the study skills (SSI total score) and distress symptoms (K10 score) (r = -0.247, p =0.002). Conclusion: The study concludes that poor study skills were found to be correlated with distress symptoms among students. The study skills were higher in the female compared to the male students. Educators need to reconfigure the approach to study skills, provide caring, stimulating environment and easy, stigma-free access to counselling and psycho-education to support the wellbeing of the students. Future qualitative studies are required to explore further the associated factors and explanations for them from a student’s perspective. Key words: High School Students, Stress, Distress, Study Skills, Learning Environment.