Stress among higher education students: towards a research agenda

Abstract

This article has two primary aims. Firstly, it provides a critical review of previous studies into student stress and identifies several important issues that, as yet, have not been explored. There has been no consideration of the effect of students maturing during their studies on the stress that they experience and how they cope with that stress. Secondly, the article highlights limitations in the past and present literature base, where there has been a concentration on a quantitative approach, and focus on a narrow range of subject groups. There is also a need to undertake longitudinal research to investigate individuals' stress experiences during the period they study at university. Overall the key assertion here is that thus far research into student stress has not offered a complete account and explanation of students' stress experiences.

Individual differences in cortisol stress response predict increases in voice pitch during exam stress

“…Exam stress constitutes a natural form of psychological stress and one that is known to strongly activate the HPA stress response in most people (Robotham, 2008). This may explain why we observed a main effect of stress on voice pitch changes, even when having not controlled for severity in the stress response.…”

“…In large part these inconsistencies stem from differences in how stress is defined (Murray et al, 1996), difficulties related to inducing and measuring genuine stress responses in the laboratory (Berger et al, 1987;Kudielka and Kirschbaum, 2005;Ruiz et al, 1996;Scherer, 1979;Tolkmitt and Scherer, 1986), and substantial variation in the magnitude of the stress response across individuals (Berger et al, 1987;Johannes et al, 2000;Kudielka et al, 2007;Streeter et al, 1983). Exam stress, the most significant source of stress experienced by students, peaking just prior to an academic examination (Robotham, 2008), offers an ecologically valid context in which to examine the effects of psychological stress on the voice. Psychological stress increases the activity of the hypothalamic adrenal (HPA) axis and circulating stress hormone levels, particularly cortisol (Dickerson and Kemeny, 2004;Kudielka and Kirschbaum, 2005), and is known to have multiple and apparent effects on the body including increased breathing rate, muscle tension, and changes in salivation rate, that may in turn affect vocal production (Kirchhübel et al, 2011;Scherer, 1981Scherer, , 1979.…”

OT student's experiences of stress and coping

“…Personal stressors experienced by students are well documented 1,2,7,8,9,10,11,12 and include physical problems or impairments, family difficulties, financial difficulties, access to resources, social issues, managing relationships and transitioning through adolescence to adulthood. Academic stressors experienced by students include high academic expectations, rigorous class schedules, integration of classroom and clinical learning, tests and examinations, the amount of class work and poor grades, time management, clinical fieldwork, relationships with supervisors, amongst others 8,13,14,15,16 .…”

“…A number of studies researching stress and coping have been conducted since the theoretical framework was first introduced and presented 1,4,7,8,12,19,20,21 . Lazarus and Folkman 3 describe eight broad types of coping strategies that individuals may employ in stressful situations.…”

Biofeedback and Anxiety in Higher Education: Comparison of Two Brief Intervention Programs

“…Estas manifestações, presentes durante todo o percurso académico, são mais prevalentes entre os alunos que estão a iniciar esta nova etapa da vida, com impacto negativo a nível pessoal, social e de desempenho académico (Kassim, Hanafi, & Hancock 2008;Teixeira, Dias, Wottrich & Oliveira, 2008;Zivin, Eisenberg, Gollust, & Golberstein, 2009). Apesar de se tratar de um problema da saúde, o envolvimento das instituições de ensino na procura de soluções que permitam lidar com estas problemáticas é uma necessidade emergente, tal como defendido por Robothan (2008).…”