INTENSITY OF STRESS AMONG EXAM GOING STUDENTS AMONG SOUTH INDIAN POPULATION
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Running title- Intensity of stress among exam going students among South Indian population.
Swetaa.A
Undergraduate student
Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical sciences
Chennai,
India.
Mrs.Gayathri.R
Assistant professor
Department of Biochemistry
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical sciences
Corresponding author
Chennai,
India.
Email- [email protected]
Telephone number- 9566047924
Author name- Swetaa.A
Guide Name- Mrs. Jothi Priya
Year of the study- I BDS 2017-2018
Total no.of words – 2360
Abstract
Aim- Intensity of stress among exam going students among south indian population.
MATERIALS AND METHODS-
Questionnaire was prepared and survey was conducted among students about intensity of stress among exam going students and data was collected. The survey was prepared on survey planet and was circulated among students.
The survey was conducted among 106 students.
RESULT –
80% of the students feel stressed during their college year. 33.3% of the students have anxiety and 30.4% of them have depression during the examination. So the intensity of stress among the students is high.
CONCLUSION-
The survey was conducted among 106 students from that their causes of stress in their life is due to college which is about 26.6%. Most of them have headaches when they are stressed. None of them are not willing to manage their stress and health during their examination and also on their day to day academic life
KEYWORDS-
Stress, students, health issues, poor academic performance.
INTRODUCTION-
Stress is body’s reaction to few change that requires an alternative or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a part of normal life. From our surroundings and thoughts we can experience stress.Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress – a negative stress reaction. Distress can disturb the body’s internal balance or equilibrium, leading to physical symptoms such as head ache, an upset stomach, high blood pressure , chest pain, sexual dysfunction, and problems sleeping. As life moves on stress also travels along us. We should have suck knowledge to overcome stress and live a peaceful life.Emotional problems can also result from distress. These problems include depression, sudden attacks, anxiety and worry.
The stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases. Stress is linked to 6 of the leading death reason: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of liver, and suicide.
Stress also becomes harmful when people engage in the compulsive behaviours to try to overcome their stress. Drinking alcohol, sex, gambling, intent surfing, and other bad habits are experienced by the students to overcome stress.Rather than relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances and compulsive behaviours tend to keep the body in a stress full state and cause more problems. The affected person becomes trapped in a vicious circle.
Various studies all over the world says that students undergoing professional courses, such as medicine and dentistry, have more experience to high stress. More stress could leads to psychological problems like depression and anxiety. Because college students often adopt unhealthy eating habits, disturb sleep for extensive studying and social activity, or drink alcohol as part of their regular activities. Students who are chronically tired or do not feel well because of these factors will have low academic scores and attendance . They also have low energy than healthy students to devote to academic and social concerns, which results in their need to take more time to perform tasks and study for classes. The huge time required to achieve their goals can become an another contributor to stress.
Consequently low performance of academic leads to failure and shame, a major problem to student stress level. It results in feeling of giving up which affects the studies and further slows academic progress.Stress arises when the combination of internal and external pressures exceeds the individual’s resources to cope with their situation. To create awareness on intensity of stress among exam going students among South Indian population.
Materials and methods-
67% of the students are stressed during their examination and results are concluded in the survey. The intensity of stress is high among students. They want to again more confidence 50% of them have lack of confidence so they become more stressed.
DISCUSSION-
The discussion covers various aspects of the stress among exam going students. The students aged between 15-23 years are very much stressed. In recents studies it has been found that intensity of stress is not only high among adults, it even affects students very badly. Stress is part of a normal life. Motivates to get promotion at work or run last mile of marathon. But if students failed to manage stress it will interfere with their studies, family and health. Recent survey says that students undertaking professional courses such as medical and dental science studies are subjected to high stress.
From this survey it’s been analysed that students are mostly suspected to suffer from stress which affects their concentration in studies, health and bonding with their families. In few cases stress can also guide a student to bad habits like smoking, drinking and sexual habits.
About 34% of students are affected from anxiety. This is one of the main effect of stress among students. The fear due to stress guides the student in a very wrong way like excessive worry and difficulty in handling problems. Students with anxiety may experience physical symptoms like upset mind, stomach, head aches and increasing heart beat. They find it difficult to concentrate more on their work and nearly half of them were not satisfied to their schooling and college life.
About 31% of participants are depressed. It leads to affect their mood, sleep, hunger, behavioural habits, cognitive problems, weight loss or gain, poor appetite or repeatedly going over thoughts.
About 45% participants manage stress by sleeping. Sleep allows you to calm down and it lowers the blood pressure. About 36% participants say that they relieve stress by eating varieties of foods. Very few do exercise and other works to relieve stress.
About 50% students feel more stressed during exams where are expected to remain stress free and calm. This a common effect of stress where the student is not able to concentrate on single work.
On a scale 1 to 10, 1 is not stressed at all and 10 being most stressed. About 31% of participants say 8 on the scale. This shows the level of stress students undergoing. This is the reason why students lack concentration which results in slowness in activity and sometimes even thoughts of suicide. Excessive stress causes physical and mental problems. Persistent stress will impair students academic achievement, personal and professional development.
The survey of 1000 16 to 17 year olds conducted by NCS national citizen service revealed that 51 percent of those questioned said that they had cried due to stress during exams. This is in accordance with our survey where 50% of students are more stressed during exam. And survey conducted by American college health association in 2017 says that 15.8% students suffer from anxiety whereas this survey states that 31% students suffer from anxiety. There is huge increase in percentage from here we can conclude that stress among students in increasing badly.
S.no
Question
Response
Number
Percentage
1
On a scale 1to10,1 is not stressed at all 10 I being highly stressed, how stressed do you feel on a daily basis during college year?
a.1
b.2
c.3
d.4
e.5
f.6
g.7
h.8
i.9
j.10
a.9
b.0
c.4
d.7
e.7
f.16
g.10
h.31
i.13
j.9
a.8.5%
b.0%
c.8%
d.6%
e.6%
f.6.16%
g.7.10%
h.29.27%
i.12.3%
j.8.5%
2
How do you relieve stress?
Eating
Sleeping
Exercise
Social media
36
45
7
14
45.3%
44.1%
6.9%
13.7%
3
What are the effects you feel from stress?
Anxiety
Depression
Over eating
Failing grades
Mood swinging
34
31
11
8
18
33.3%
30.4%
10.8%
7.8%
17.6%
4
What are causes of stress in your life?
College
Family and friends
Money
Work
Health related issues
56
14
12
11
6
46.6%
14.17%
12.1%
11.1%
6.1%
5
What would you like to change about yourself?
Overcoming fears
More confident
Stronger relationships
Better grades
Improve fitness
26
32
18
11
12
26.3%
32.3%
18.2%
11.1%
12.1%
6
When you feel stressed,do you feel any of the symptoms?
Lack of confidence
Headache
Nausea
Anxiety attacks
None of the above
31
39
8
11
10
31.3%
39.4%
8.1%
11.1%
10.1%
7
How far are you willing to go to manage your stress?
Fake medication
Seek professional advice
Your research in internet
None of the above
17
20
18
43
17.3%
20.4%
18.4%
43.9%
8
Does your stress affect your college life?
Yes
No
Sometimes
51
18
30
61.5%
30.3%
18.24%
9
What do you find stressful?
Exams
Volume of work
Deadlines
Personal relationships
Health worries
41
24
20
12
4
60.6%
23.8%
19.8%
11.9%
4%
10
During exam how many hours you sleep?
10 hours
6 hours
4 hours
Less than 4 hours
11
44
37
9
10.9%
43.6%
36.6%
8.9%
11
Do you feel more stressed while writing your exam?
Yes
No
Sometimes
48
24
27
68.5%
24.2%
27.3%
Conclusion :
Through this survey it is proved that Intensity of stress among exam going students among South Indian population is very high. The pressures of balancing personal issues, academic demands and ones one expectation is an extremely daunting task. Seeking professional advice and stress management are the two ways to overcome stress during exams.
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