engleski

Relationship between academic stress and health

This study examined the relationship between academic stress and health among students. The study also considered gender differences. Previous research showed that stress can have a direct effect on health. Results revealed significant correlation between academic stress and health, and existence of gender differences. World Health Organization defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity“. The definition suggests multidimensionality of health construct and reveals its complex structure and exposure to other factors. Self-reported health is a very popular measure in health research nowadays, owing to its simplicity and validity. On the other hand, stress comprises of both a physiological and psychological response to external events or stressors. Certain level of stress could be stimulating, but trouble occurs when stress becomes overloading. Stress can appear in any area of life, whereas most prevalent are work-related stress and academic stress. It is well known that stress can have a direct effect on health. Moreover, various physical and emotional difficulties have been recognized as symptoms of stress, such as headaches and other body pains, insomnia, rashes or mood swings. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between health and academic stress. Furthermore, the aim was to see whether there are differences in level of stress and health considering gender. Data collection was conducted online with 409 students of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia. There were 284 female participants and 124 male participants, aged from 18 to 31 (M=21.31, SD=1.839). Stress was measured using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck i Mermelstein 1983), which was adapted to measure academic stress. Health was measured using the 26-item WHOQOL- BREF Scale (WHO, 1996). Items are divided into 4 dimensions: Physical health, Psychological health, Social relationships and Environment. Results show that there are significant negative correlations between each dimension of health and academic stress. Furthermore, female participants report that they have significantly poorer Physical health than male participants, but significantly higher Social relationships than male participants. On the other hand, gender differences were not observed in academic stress. These results reveal a negative relationship between health and academic stress, which is a very important finding that has multiple implications for academic environment, such as university counselling or stress prevention. Results also show important difference in gender perception of health.

health, stress

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