University student stress

Type classification: this is a notes resource.

Overview

Due to the challenging nature of university, students can potentially experience high levels of stress that can affect their health and academic performance (Hamaideh, 2011). Indeed, an increasing number of university students appear to be experiencing significant mental health issues.^[1] In addition, the proportion of people enrolling in university is increasing.^[2] These trends indicate that stress and mental health issues are likely to become an even more notable phenomenon amongst university students.

This page is intended to be an informative resource about stress experienced by university students. Currently it consists of notes developed for the purposes of:

summarising existing measures of university student stress and
developing a new measure of university student stress for use in psychological research studies.

Existing measures

Main themes

Two main approaches to measuring university stress are evident - ratings of the amount of stress from different sources (stressors) and ratings of degree of different types of stress responses (reactions). Some measurement instruments measure both these aspects (Gadzella, 1991). In addition, university-related stress is measured in some studies globally (overall).

Summary of the main university student stress factors measured by the identified instrumentation:

Sources of stress (stressors)

Interpersonal conflicts, Self-esteem problems, and Money problems (CCLSS; Towbes & Cohen, 1996)
Environmental, Academic, Family/Money (GSI-R: Rocha-Singh, 1990)
Time constraints, Feedback from specific faculty, Financial constraints, Help from faculty, Emotional support from friend, Feedback with regard to status in program, Administrative issues, Psychology Students Stress Questionnaire (PSSQ; Cahir & Morris, 1991)
Time constraints, Feedback from specific faculty, Financial constraints, Help from faculty, Emotional support from friend, Feedback with regard to status in program, Administrative issues (PSSQ; Cahir & Morris, 1991)
Frustrations, conflicts, pressures, changes, and self-imposed (SSI; Gadzella, 1991)
Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Academic, Environmental (SSS; Shannon, 1990)
Academic, Time, Environmental/Social (USS; Burge, 2009)
Assessment, Work, Family, Study balance, Campus/administrative, Interpersonal relationships, Transitional process, Teaching quality and support, Financial expenses, Other (Burge, 2009; these themes were derived from content analysis of open-ended responses)

Responses to stress (reactions)

Affective, Behavioural, Physiological, Cognitive. (LASRS; Lakaev, 2006, 2009)
Physiological, Emotional, Behavioral, Cognitive Appraisal (SSI; Gadzella, 1991)

Summaries of measurement instruments

University Stress Scale (USS)

Stallman, H. M., & Hurst, C. P. (2016). The University Stress Scale: Measuring domains and extent of stress in university students. Australian Psychologist, 51(2), 128-134. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ap.12127
Measure of domains and extent of stress that may be experienced by students in their personal and student life
21-item measure rated on 4-point Likert-type scale from 'Not at all' to 'constantly'.
More stressors and greater intensity associated with greater psychological distress

Academic stress

Struthers et al. (2000)^[3]
Students' stress associated with their introductory psychology course was assessed with three items concerning how worried, helpless, and stressed they felt about their performance.
Each item was assessed with a 10-point Likert scale. The anchor labels for the scales were (1) not at all and (10) a great deal."

College Chronic Life Stress Survey (CCLSS)

Towbes & Cohen (1996)^[4])
Measures the frequency (per week) of chronic stressors in the lives of college students. Focuses on items that persist across time to create stress, such as interpersonal conflicts, self-esteem problems, and money problems. (Ross et al., 1999, [1])

Graduate Stress Inventory-Revised (GSI-R)

Rocha-Singh (1990)[2]^[5].
7-point Likert-type scale ranging from (1) not at all stress to (7) extremely stressful
Oriented towards measuring stress for doctoral students of color
Factor structure and design has parallels with Burge (2009):
21 stress items, 3 factors
1. Environmental stress (23.9% of variance explained)
  1. Peers treating you unlike the way treat each other (73)
  2. Faculty treating differently from your peers (67)
  3. Trying to meet peers of your race/ethnicity on campus (59)
  4. Finding support groups sensitive to your needs (56)
  5. Living in the local community (46)
  6. Adjusting to the campus environment (49)
  7. Participating in class (44)
  8. Meeting with faculty (43)
2. Academic stress (7% of variance explained)
  1. Handling the academic workload (-90)
  2. Meeting deadlines for course assignments (-76)
  3. Fear of failing to meet program expectations (-47)
  4. Fulfilling responsibilities at home and at school (-44)
  5. Taking exams (-39)
  6. Handling relationships (-36)
  7. Writing papers (-37)
3. Family/Monetary Stress (5.7% of variance explained)
  1. Family having money problems (66)
  2. Paying monthly expenses (52)
  3. Arranging childcare (52)
  4. Being obligated to participate in family functions (40)
  5. Being obligated to repay loans (43)

Lakaev Academic Stress Response Scale (LASRS)

Lakaev (2006;2009)^[6]^[7]
Respondents rate how much of the time they experience symptoms on a 5-point Likert scale (Lakaev, 2006) with the anchors None of the Time (1), A Little of the Time (2), Some of the Time (3), Most of the Time (4), and All of the Time (5).
Items were generated from a review of the general stress and academic stress literature, with 21 out of 27 original items selected after using exploratory factor analysis corresponding to 4 factors (Affective, Behavioural, Physiological, Cognitive).
1. Affective (4; $\alpha$ $\alpha$ = .82)
  1. My work built up so much that I felt like crying .83
  2. I felt emotional .82
  3. My emotions stop me from studying .50
  4. I yelled at family or friends .43
  5. I felt emotionally drained by university .37
2. Behavioural (8; $\alpha$ $\alpha$ = .82)
  1. I felt I was lazy when it came to university work .74
  2. I procrastinated on assignments .63
  3. I was distracted in class .62
  4. I was unable to study .53
  5. I had trouble concentrating in class .51
  6. I avoided class .50
  7. I used alcohol or drugs .47
  8. I have trouble remembering my notes .35
3. Physiological (5; $\alpha$ $\alpha$ = .85)
  1. I couldn’t breathe .80
  2. I had difficulty eating .75
  3. My hands were sweaty .71
  4. I have had a lot of trouble sleeping .67
  5. I had headaches .64
4. Cognitive (4; $\alpha$ $\alpha$ = .89) - Worry?
  1. I felt overwhelmed by the demands of study –.71
  2. I felt worried about coping with my studies –.53
  3. There is so much going on that I can’t think straight –.50
  4. I felt emotionally drained by university .37 (repeated)

Psychology Student Stress Questionnaire (PSSQ)

Cahir & Morris (1991)^[8]
Designed to assess the occurrence and severity of academic, emotional, and financial stressors during graduate training.
Students first were asked whether they had experienced each of the stressors (yes/no). If they had, they were asked to rate the severity of the stressor on a 5-point rating scale on which zero indicated “not stressful” and 5 indicated “high stress.”
30-items; 7 factors - %variance
1. Time constraints 19.5
2. Feedback from specific faculty 8.8
3. Financial constraints 7.7
4. Help from faculty 6.5
5. Emotional support from friend 6.2
6. Feedback with regard to status in program 5.4
7. Administrative issues 4.9

Student-life Stress Inventory (SSI) (Gadzella, 1991^[9]): "designed to assess the students’ perceived academic stress and reactions to stress. There are 51 items arranged on a Likert response format (1=never true to 5=always true) that assessed five categories of academic stressors (frustrations, conflicts, pressures, changes, and self-imposed), and four categories describing reactions to stressors (physiological, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive). Validity and reliability... (Gadzella, 1991; Gadzella, Masten, & Stacks, 1998). The items were summed for each subsection to get a total score in all nine categories. A higher score was indicative of greater stress and reactions to stress. Internal consistency estimates ranged from 0.69 to 0.82 on the nine categories in the present study." (Misra & McKean, 2000^[10]). The actual items are copyrighted and are not readily available.
1. Stressors (like hassles)
  1. Frustrations
  2. Conflict
  3. Pressure
  4. Change
  5. Self-imposed
2. Reactions to stressors (like stress)
  1. Physiological
  2. Emotional
  3. Behavioural
  4. Cognitive appraisal

Student Stress Survey (SSS)

Based on the Student Stress Scale (Insel, & Roth, 1985), the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (Taylor, 1953), and other potential sources of stress identified by the researchers.(Ross et al., 1999^[11])
Respondents checked each item they had experienced during the current school year."
40 items, 4 categories
1. Interpersonal sources (6 items): interactions with other people, such as, a fight with a boyfriend or girlfriend or trouble with parents
2. Intrapersonal sources (16 items): internal sources, such as, changes in eating or sleeping habits
3. Academic sources (9 items): school-related activities and issues, such as, an increased class workload or transferring schools
4. Environmental (10 items): problems in the environment, outside of academics, such as car or computer problems.

University student stress (USS)

Burge (2009).
22-items, 3 factors
Academic-related Stress (6 items; M = 3.09/5, $\alpha$ $\alpha$ = .74)
1. Sitting examinations .84
2. Studying for examinations .80
3. Oral presentations .48
4. Essays/assignments .41
5. Expectations from self to do well .38
6. Waiting for results/grades .36
Time-related Stress (6 items; M = 2.82/5 $\alpha$ $\alpha$ = .81)
1. Lack of time for family and friends .88
2. Lack of free/leisure time .86
3. Time pressures/deadlines .71
4. Academic workload .69
5. Amount to learn .46
6. Unclear coursework requirements .37
Social/Environmental-related Stress (9 items; M = 1.98/5 $\alpha$ $\alpha$ = .79)
1. Transportation .70
2. Using campus facilities .70
3. Socialising on campus .66
4. Using technology .63
5. Working with peers .57
6. Expectations from others to do well .48
7. Learning new skills .47
8. Attending classes .43
9. Thinking about the future .41
10. Financial expenses

General stress

Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)': Cohen et al., 1983). The 10-item scale measures an individual's perception of stress. Each item was designed to identify how unpredictable, uncontrollable or overloaded the respondent has found his or her life to be within the last month, preceding completion of the instrument. Responses were assessed on a 5 point scale, with '0' = 'never' and '4' = 'very often'. The PSS is the most widely used psychological instrument for measuring an individual's perception of stress (Cohen, 1994).^[12]

Proposed measure

The proposed measure of university student stress consists of three parts:

Open-ended reporting of university stressors
Global ratings of overall university stress, coping and satisfaction
Ratings of individual stress items

Open-ended

What are the main stresses you experience as a university student (e.g. exams, finances, lecturers and tutors, assignments, etc.)? (based on Burge, 2009; Gallagher, 1990^[13])

Global ratings

Global measure of university stress, coping and satisfaction (see Burge, 2009; Neill, 2010; Struthers et al.):

Overall, how stressful are you finding university?
1. - 1 = Not at all stressful
  - 2 = A little bit stressful
  - 3 = Moderately stressful
  - 4 = Very stressful
  - 5 = Extremely stressful
In general, how have you been coping with your university-related stress?
1. - 1 = Not coping at all
  - 2 = Coping a little
  - 3 = Coping satisfactorily
  - 4 = Coping well
  - 5 = Coping extremely well
Overall, how satisfied are you with university?
1. - 1 = Not satisfied at all
  - 2 = A little bit satisfied
  - 3 = Moderately satisfied
  - 4 = Very satisfied
  - 5 = Extremely satisfied