A Study of Stress and Final Exams Week Among Selected Carroll College Students

Abstract

Stress is a common part of everyday life. An example is stress perceived by college students during final exams week. Stress may be dysfunctional and harm a person’s health, or it may be functional by helping to motivate a person. If stress is not dealt with appropriately, it may affect a person’s mental, physical, or behavioral functioning. The sources of stress are different for every person and they may be related to dysfunctional events as well as functional events in a person’s life. People react to stress in different ways. Coping with stress constructively is very important for a person’s health. This study examines the physical, mental and behavioral effects of stress on Carroll College students. The effects of stress were measured by a survey that was administered during final exams week on December 12, 2001. A similar survey was administered on February 14, 2002 to a separate sample. The symptoms of stress, the student’s perception of their stress, and the contributors to stress source were measured. The results were analyzed according to level of stress, the symptoms and contributors of stress and controlled for major, gender, age and year in college.