What college stress look like:
Academic demands are a key source of stress for college students. Unlike in high school, students in college are expected to manage their workload without much guidance from teachers, and it’s easy to feel lost in a class with several hundred peers. Our research suggests that, on average, distress goes up as academic demands go up, peaking ahead of final exams and then falling again. Some semesters are more demanding than others, and when students have more work to do than usual, they also (unsurprisingly) report more academic stress. This can happen when students take a course overload or an elective in a new department, for example.
It can be comforting to know that academic stress is a shared experience, with predictable patterns of intensification and recovery, where some semesters will be more challenging than others. It may also help to know that temporary increases in stress can benefit students under some circumstances. Our longer-term research across four years found that students earned higher grades in semesters when they experienced bouts of negative mood. An uptick in negative mood one semester may reflect that extra effort was needed to meet academic challenges. The important caveat here is that we only observed this effect for students who were typically happy overall, showing the importance of maintaining good emotional balance.
Some students start their college journey at a disadvantage, having experienced more stress in other areas of their lives. We are currently analyzing data we collected that suggests that students who come to campus having previously experienced more stressful life events are more likely to start the year with higher academic stress and distress. These students are also more likely to experience even greater stress at final exams and during especially challenging semesters.
From our research, a good example of a factor that makes students vulnerable is financial stress. One powerful indicator of financial stress is food insecurity—a spectrum that includes worrying about running out of food to going full days without food. In 2020, 34% of college students in the U.S. experienced food insecurity. When basic needs are not met, academic success is compromised. Our research in Canada found that first-year students experiencing food insecurity had noticeably poorer mental health than their food-secure peers, a disadvantage that was sustained across the entire academic year. Many campuses are attempting to tackle food insecurity by funding food pantries, creating free- or low-cost food programs, and offering emergency financial aid.
Other groups of students who may need support tailored to their individual experiences include first-generation students, who often don’t have the same family resources as students whose parents went to college themselves, and international students who live further away from their families. Students with disabilities and mental health difficulties often need accessibility support in classrooms and around campus. With increasing diversity on college campuses, it is now standard practice for colleges to have offices dedicated to supporting students with the range of life experiences they bring to campus.
Finally, maintaining friendships and balancing social demands with academics is another key source of stress for college students. Going to college often means making new friends and leaving others behind, and when conflicts over competing needs and wants crop up or friendship expectations are violated, it can be stressful. On the positive side, friends can be a great source of support for college students. For example, in research we recently conducted we found that college students felt less distressed when they discussed their problems with a friend who was good at thinking through problems in new ways. The college experience expands emerging adult social networks, and there are many opportunities on campus to find and build supportive friendships.
By: Gelo Andrada
Reference:
Barker, T. E., & Howard, L. A. (2022, May 18). How to Prepare for the Stresses of College Retrieved from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_prepare_for_the_stresses_of_college