A Comparative Study of Stress Among Graduate Students
A Comparative Study of Stress Among Graduate Students
A Comparative Study of Stress Among Graduate Students
knowledge and belief, no dissertation has been previously submitted on this topic.
Bareilly (U.P.)
CERTIFICATE
Soni Shakeel as a part of her M.Ed study under my guidance and supervision. I
recommend the dissertation to the submitted for the Degree of M.Ed of Rakshpal
Place:
Faculty of Education
All researchers are cooperative efforts. A researcher has to seek cooperation of the oeoile
around, right from the stage of identify the area of research to finally submitting the
research report. The researcher is guided by surrounding about the way to make other
help in research process. The present study is no exception in these terms the same has
This study was made possible through the cooperation of numerous teachers, principals,
librarians, school officials, and students in various schools. The researcher is thankful to
all of them and apologetic also as she is unable to credit by name the individual
The researcher feels proud and privileged to have a learned teacher with extensive
Training Institute, Bareilly. Who was very kind enough to guide the researcher at each
step and made her aware as to why and how to do things the way they are done in a
research work. The researcher feels over whelmed with gratitude to his for the individual
dissertation to completion.
The researcher takes this opportunity to register her heart felt thanks to all her teachers,
who extended their generous guidance and time whenever they were approached, and
proved to be motivating.
Force during the entire research process, However, she would register special thanks to
Prof. Amita Bhatnagar, Ass. Prof. Satish Chandra, Ass. Prof. Morpal Singh and all the
The researcher is heartedly thankful to her parents and brothers who always supported
and motivated her to conduct this study finally, the researcher acknowledges the
cooperation of her friends and classmates, and is thankful to them for being more than to
M.Ed Student
CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
A Brief Study
“Stress is the non specific response of the body to any demand made upon it”.
We hear this stress word everywhere these days; from senior citizens to adults;
Simply put, stress is the reaction of the body to everyday pressure & tension.
(Saunders & Balinsky, 1973). Graduate students not only have stress in college, but
also within society. Graduate students must meet the demands of life outside of college.
There are some common stressors that graduate students tend to experience while in
college. Some of these common stressors that graduate are: transition to graduate school,
test anxiety, academic performance, family commitments, and finances. Graduate school
has been known to be a time of multiple and rapid changes in life for young adults. “It
was reasoned that more experienced students should be less stressed by the demands of
graduate school” (Kreger, 1995, p. 345). Stress in graduate school has been related to
poor academic performance, coping problems, poor family relations, and dropping out of
graduate school (Saunders & Balinsky, 1993). Graduate students may experience an
increase in emotional difficulties and high levels of stress in their graduate school
experience. Graduate study often leads to the postponement of various life events.
emotional problems.
Factors that are responsible for causing stress are called stressors such as:
This is a transition stage between childhood and adulthood. The stage is characterized
have attributed this pronounced period of storm and stress to the adjustment required
their physical changes or with social environment and thus suffer from problems
arising from inadequate adaptation. These problems may further case psychological
There have been many studies (Schafer, 1996; Fisher, 1994; & Altimaier,
1983) which have reported strong relationship between stress and graduate students.
Stress has been associated with the major life events, daily life hassles and changes in
life. It is created by excessive environmental & internal demand that need constant
Marriage and parenthood are actions that, while not impossible to combine with
graduate school, may be postponed because the individual feels that they will interfere
Financial Issues
(1994) found that financial concerns cause significant stress for graduate students and
produce high levels of stress. Many students prefer to undertake graduate study on a
full-time basis, rather than on a part-time basis. Sources of money then become
important for the student. “There are sources within the university for loan and jobs
(Arnstein et al., 1999, p.48). Graduate programs provide financial aid with
ancillary jobs. “The income from such jobs may solve their fiscal crisis, but students
often find themselves exhausted physically and distracted mentally” (Arnstein et al.,
1999, p. 52). Personal loans are an additional source of financial support for graduate
students.
When students start to have financial troubles, their outlook on life may be
dramatically affected. Many studies (Hodgson & Simoni, 1995; Arnstein et at.,
1999 and Saunders & Balinsky, 1993) have found that financial problems during
Family Commitments
Many students have career and family commitments that make full-time
student. The older students may feel a little lost since they have been in the school
setting for years. Younger students may feel intimidated by the older students due to
the fact that they are more experienced. “Graduate students tend to be older and to
lack recent experience in taking exams” (Sapp, 1996, p. 80). Grade competition is
(Rittner &Trudeau, 1997 p. 148). Getting involved in a study group could help an
individual release some of their anxiety by asking their colleagues questions that they
are uncertain of. To alleviate test-anxiety, students should not compete with one
Coursework can add a great deal of stress in a graduate student’s life. Most Graduate
students know what they need to have in order to stay in graduate school. When a
graduate student first starts, they will notice that the readings for each class are double
from what they were in undergraduate work (Rittner & Trudeau, 1997). Some
graduate students will take the maximum credit load that their programs will allow them
so that they can finish sooner. This can cause a great deal of stress for graduate students
having 4-5 classes and having readings, assignments and papers/projects to do.
“Increased coursework stress among students with higher academic success may be
Commitments that interfere with their graduate work such as childcare or caring
for aging parents. These all require time and energy. Students may build up a great
deal of stress due to these added factors while in graduate school. “Depression and
loneliness can interfere with the student’s performance and be a source of conflict for
both partners (Arnstein et al., 1999, p. 59). The impact graduate school has on
marriages may be different from one couple to another. The impact of these
difficulties may not have been anticipated or considered beforehand (Arnstein et al.,
1999).
If the couple has children, the household responsibilities may become more
difficult to maintain. There has to be a great deal of flexibility in the family so that
they can complete the program. Poor family relations can cause a student to have an
Test Anxiety
Two of the main components to having test anxiety are worry and emotionality
(Sapp, 1996). Those graduate students who have heightened test anxiety tend to
perform worse. This is not always true though. Some students tend to work better
when they are under pressure. There are various reasons why some graduate students
may experience test anxiety. Some of these reasons are due to the age differences in
The problem of stress has acquired considerable importance in recent years. It is not only
a clinical or organizational problem but has family and social ramifications also. More
and more people are now recognizing its negative effects in terms of physical and
psychological disorders. Recent researches demonstrate that the stress may also have
strain that cannot be accommodated by the organism and which ultimately results in
impaired health or behavior. In common parlance, however the terms ‘stress’ and ‘strain’
dwindled in the physiological field where is first introduced but the use of stress
Hans Selye first introduced the concept of stress in the lif sciences in 1936. It is
concept borrowed from the natural sciences. Derived from the Latin world ‘stringier’,
stress was popularly used in the seventeenth century to mean hardship, strain, adversity
or affection. It was used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to dente force.
Pressure strain or strong effect with reference to an object or person, in engineering and
physics, the term implies and external force or pressure exerted on something with the
intention to distort and being resisted by the person or object on which it is exerted.
Life would be simple if one biological and pshychological needs were automatically
gratified. However, as we all know that there are many obstacles both environmental and
personal in each person’s life that may interfere. Such obstacles place “adjectives
demand” or “stress” on the individual (J.C. Coleman, 1988). So stress is that stage
which exerts so pressure on the individual that requires adjustment or he has to adjust
himself accordingly. The mental health of the individual does not developed in the
absence of stress. Each individual shows fast development in such conditions when he
Late in the nineteenth century, Charls Darwin’s theory of “natural selection” and
Edmund Spencer’s concept of “survival of the fittest” focused attention on the idea that
human survival involves adaptation to the ‘natural’ demands of living. Physician soon
began to view illness as the result on the part of man’s perceptual struggle with social as
Early in the twentieth century, the means by which human and animal adopt to stress
came under scientific study. In the United States, Walter Cannon (1941) studied the
“Fight or flight” phenomenon, an arousal reaction called forth in time of danger, cannon
started using phrased such as “great emotional stress” or time of stress” in a clear
physicological sense, when reporting his psycho endocrine experiments on the fight or
flight phenomenon of the organism. The primitive response helps an animal or a person
to stand a flight or to flee the enemy and is therefore caused an adaptive survival
mechanism.
Later in this century, Dr. Hans Selye (1936), a Canadian stress physiologist, further
documented cannon’s findings and coined the term “stress” in the life sciences for the
non-specific response of the body to any demand for an adaptation made upon it. He
the hormones, that have an arousal effect on the entire body. ‘Adaptive’ because it
stimulates body defence mechanism, thus increase the chance of survival, and
‘Syndorme’ because its individual manifestation are coordinate, and inter dependent.
Stress involves an initial alarm reaction similar to cannon’s “fight or flight” reaction. This
It is now agreed that the ability of a person to function physically, psychologically and
Actually the word, ‘Stress’ is a term used in the 15 th century as a shortened or apathetic
form of “distress” (Rees. 1976), to denote obnoxious human experience. Shorter oxford
English Dictionary determined that in 11th century ‘Stress’ meant ‘hardship, trait
and he must develop all of his energies to its protection. Together social and
psychological requirement of stress as generic term despite disagreement about its precise
1.4 Stress
people. Mason (1975) reviewed literature on stress and concluded that there was
confusion and lack of consensus regarding its definition. The concept of stress has been
popularized in the field of (i) physiology (ii) physical & life science (iii) Medical
Selye (1956, 1973) has defined stress as a non-specific response of the body to
The term stress has been used variously to refer to i) stimulus external force acting
on the organism ii) Internal drive iii) Response changes in the physiological functions iv)
interaction between external forces and the resistance opposed to it as in biology and v)
more comprehensive combinations of both the factors (Selye 1979). Most definitions
George Eugel (1979) associated stress with the equilibrium of the body system.
When a person feels a pressure exerted upon him. Individual tries to resist the force
pressure, to maintain the original state of equilibrium. The process gives rise to distress
“Either fight or fight” The fight or flight response used by stone ancestors is no
longer appropriate. It is dangerous also. It later year, the concept of stress has been
substantially modified by Selye (1979) himself from “non-specific response of the body”
The stress response is not always harmful to unpleasant, stress is quite of the spice
of life the feelings so exhilaration, excitement and challenges that makes living a fun.
Stress is non-specific result of any demand made upon the body be it a mental or
Adams (1983, in kamaruddin, 1997), stated that the biggest problem among
schooling teenagers is the matters associated with their schooling. Other than that,
problems that female students have to deal with are communication and family problems.
For the male students, their side problems are problems with getting involved in sports,
recreation and financial problems. The many responsibilities and pressure cause stress to
the graduate school students like need to achieve good academic grades, character
building and good attitude besides trying to comprehend with their personal needs.
Levine, 1970 (in Dobson, 1980), explained that stress has a relationship with a
specific situation like a learning environment in school and the inability to do work
perfectly and the failure to achieve anything that is desired. The issues of students doing
things like punching teachers, cursing, slandering and hurting teachers, position and
others calls for researchers to see the mentioned phenomena is connected to the stress
found that this age group has to deal with the academic world. Therefore, there exists
demand and hope for themselves, their parents, teachers and the society to see them
succeed. This is parallel to the research by mates and Alisson (1992) which finds that
among the academic factor that contribute to the stress in graduate students is their
achievements it is hoped that a suitable teaching and learning method is created so that
Research based on the stress levels that are experienced by graduate students have
been done by Chin (2005) on students form Tunkn Abdul Rahman (TAR) school,
Malaysia. Mean while, Godzilla (2006) conducted a research on the stress levels in
female students in a university. Although past researches have been on the stress
indirectly in managing students who are dealing with stress with that it is hoped that an
effort or a program that can prevent stress among students will be planned out.
Information about the stress that is experienced by students can also help the more
authorized group like parents, school and society in giving guidance to students on
Other than that the education curriculum that stresses on academic achievement by
Researches on the difference of stress levels between sexes are usually conducted
directly or indirectly. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to verify the result of
previous researches that concluded female students experience more stress compared to
the male students like the research by Gadzella and Baloglu (2001) which found that
female students experience stress during changes in their life. While Mohammad Shah
(1993) found that, there is significant difference between the stress experienced by male
and female students and the research by Mohd. Jafri (1991) shows that students
experience more stress when faced with problems compared to the male students. From
the researches that have been conducted, it is hoped that a program can be created and
Among the question that need to be answered are, does the need to achieved good
and male students. I hope that with the research that is conducted can help identify and
understand the stress that is experienced by students and can help the students deal with
the stress.
1.5 Statement of the Problem
CONCEPTUAL DEFINITIONS
The researcher has defined the main terms considered for the study.
COMPARATIVE STUDY
A term used in which two or more cases or groups are considered loosely to
field or a subject.
STRESS
Stress has become such as ingrained part of the our vocabulary and daily
existence, thus it is difficult to believe that our current use of the term originated only a
little more than 50 years ago, when it was essentially coined by the Hans Selye in 1936,
who defined it as “non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”.
spans over a period of 3 years. The degree provides the students with a wide range of
managerial skills and competence in an area of commerce. It equips students with the
knowledge of accounting principles, expert and import laws, economic policies and other
aspects that impacts trade & business. B.Com students can opt for jobs like Accountant,
B.Sc : B.Sc stands for Bachelor of Science. Duration of B.Sc degree spans over a
subject areas. These subject areas usually include any one of the main science fields
(Physics, Chemistry & Biology) and other fields depending on the specialization a
student opts. Persuing a B.Sc course is most beneficial for students who have a strong
interest and background in Science & Mathematics. The course is also beneficial for
students who wish to pursue multi & interdisciplinary Science careers in future.
BA : BA stands for Bachelor of Arts. Its Duration spans over a period of 3 years.
the employment market and demands of the employment market and meet their career
Library and Information Science, Social Work Departments, Advertising Agencies etc by
taking courses in the Arts and Humanities one can depend on cultural understanding and
communication skills.
1.7 Significance of the study
Stress happen when we feel that we cannot cope with pressure and this pressure
Although there has been considerable study about stress and anxiety, much of
research has focused on adult conditions. This study is intended to review stressful events
As our society is dynamic and progressive, there has been a considerable change
Stress is helpful when it increase our ability to be alert, energized, switched on and
resourceful in facing challenges we enjoy or have to deal with, but stress becomes
unhelpful when it leaves us feeling fatigued, tense, anxious, burnt out or overwhelmed.
The tipping point between helpful and unhelpful stress is different for each of us and can
depend on what is happening in our lives. Therefore, it is necessary to find out if there is