Most adolescents are susceptible to academic stress
Introduction
Stress has become part and parcel of most students globally who are carrying out their studies. Stress refers to the mental disorder or strain that results from the pressure of the circumstances that are demanding. Most college students according to the study done by the AIS experience stress because of the high expectations from their parents as well as tutors. Stress also may arise due to the internal illness of the students, so it up to the student to decide on the necessary measures that will help him/her curb this challenge. It is advised that when one experiences stress he should seek help from the guidance and counseling department in the institution. Most students currently are not getting enough sleep because of the amount of stress they are carrying on their shoulders.
Most adolescents are susceptible to academic stress as transitional changes are made at a social and personal level, to solve this issue we have to find out the root cause or the origin that will help us create measures that are going to help us come up with efficient strategies to contain this issue. Students were expected to only undertake studies and studying cannot be considered as the origin of stress but the expectations from the teachers and parents are what we consider to be so stressful Hurst, C. S (2013).
Stress affects the student’s health, well being and it can also result in poor performance in academics. Campus students who go through stress have also recorded the worst health outcomes across the globe. Stress is normally caused by homesick in the case of the new students, they discover it to be hard to adjust with the changes in the environment, according to NBC 70% of the new students at any given institution experience homesick, being away from your native home can be stressing before getting used to it.
Stressors for college students
Middle levels of stress can improve the student’s performance since it encourages the students to work extra hard for him to achieve his set goals and objectives, but most students just allow the stress to be more than overwhelming and this will ensure that their academic levels go down and poor performance leads to more stress.
Academic stress
Shields, N. (2001) Reiterates that academic stress involves attending lectures, conducting research, paper writing, and also preparing as well as doing exams, but many lecturers tend to give too much work to their students. So it is up to the lecturers to ensure that their students are not overworked and they are not given less work because students are likely to develop unethical behaviors that will hinder their academic excellence. It is also advised that if a student is struggling academically then he is supposed to seek assistance from the guidance and counseling department.
Personal stress
It is common to the new students who used to live with their parents, now they have to learn how to live independently, University is considered to be a place where a transition is about to take place that is from childhood to adulthood. During this stage, many youths are exposed to different things that may end up building or ruining their lives such as peer pressure from the colleagues (to take part in everything they had not done before, whether good or bad). This is a major stressor that might end up affecting your health and performance. Women experience changes on how they appear physically and gain weight, any changes in the human body can be stressing, so in the case of the female students they might find it hard to cope to the changes that are happening in their body resulting to individual stress
Financial stress
Education is quite expensive and this gives the students and parents the burden of looking for the required school fees. There are also unseen costs such as buying foods, accommodation, buying of books, and the clothing expenses Smith, T. (2007). .Affording all these is a major challenge to most parents and it ends up affecting the well-being of the student in college making him/her feel uncomfortable and ones a student is not fully settled then the performance cannot be pleasing.
Diversification of a population in their experience of stressors
Young people (students in high schools and colleges) experience high-stress levels this is because of the normative stressors that arise from their day to day routine of studies. This comes in from the pressure to produce good results, According to Shields, N. (2001). 66% of the students have reported on being stressed about poor grades even in a situation that a student is well prepared for the exams; according to research conducted by OECD 38% still feel tense.
In the current world generally, females are likely to experience and incur greater levels of stress, discomfort, and depression than male students. It is perceived that the male is strong and ready to adapt easily to the changes in the environment while females find it and they decide to express anger and disappointment when trying to solve the stress issues
According to Chung, K. Y. (2007). Stressor diversity is divided into two categories namely high stressor diversity and low stressor diversity. The higher stress diversity is usually associated with a negative impact because the higher the stressor exposure the higher the negative cases that are being reported globally and they include heavy domestic chores, financial strains, and also health concerns while low stressor diversity exposes students to arguments and work-related stressors. Two diverse populations may be speaking two different languages but can be genetically at the same level, according to a journal scientist there is only a 5% difference in variation that experience stressors
Measures to reduce stress among college students
Daniel, F. (2013). Says that the students should be encouraged to take enough rest-this will help their brains to rest as well so that it can work efficiently. However, for the case of the students who don’t take enough rest make put them at a higher risk of being sick from diseases such as diabetes, obesity and it can also result in depression.
Students should learn to exercise their bodies, this will help them reduce stress and make them feel as if they are doing well, students should participate in a sport that they enjoy, and this will lighten the burden they are carrying.
Avoiding of energy boosters that are not natural, drugs such as caffeine pills may help students stay awake all night along but causing unnoticeable harm to your body and will end up in the crashing of the energy will later turn in to stress
College students should get emotional support to enable them to get used to institutions’ environment, they should be encouraged to get a friend or a member of the staff who should mentor them well without judging them.
Eating well is another thing that can help them control the amount of stress that they are going through. It is also advisable that the students not to overload themselves all they need to do is to take care of themselves well to avoid unnecessary stress.
Conclusion
Stress is the main reason most students are not performing well then it up to the government and the relevant stakeholders and well-wishers to take necessary measures to ensure students don’t suffer from stress anymore. Institutions should encourage their students to always go for guidance and counseling when they are experiencing problems, this strategy will reduce the amount of stress being experienced in our colleges.
REFERENCES
Hurst, C. S., Baranik, L. E., & Daniel, F. (2013). College student stressors: A review of the qualitative research. Stress and Health, 29(4), 275-285.
Rayle, A. D., & Chung, K. Y. (2007). Revisiting first-year college students’ mattering: Social support, academic stress, and mattering experience. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 9(1), 21-37.
Renk, K., & Smith, T. (2007). Predictors of academic-related stress in college students: An examination of coping, social support, parenting, and anxiety. Naspa Journal, 44(3), 405-431
Roddenberry, A., & Renk, K. (2010). Locus of control and self-efficacy: potential mediators of stress, illness, and utilization of health services in college students. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 41(4), 353-370.
Shields, N. (2001). Stress, active coping, and academic performance among persisting and non persisting college students. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 6(2), 65-81.