College students' stress under current economic downturn

• Published in: College student journal Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 536 - 543
• Main Authors: Guo, Yuh-Jen, Wang, Shu-Ching, Johnson, Veronica, Diaz, Marcela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Project Innovation (Alabama) 01.09.2011
• Subjects: College Students; Economic aspects; Economic Conditions; Educational aspects; Employment; Females; Health aspects; Influence; Males; Mental Health; Psychological aspects; Sex; Stress; Stress (Psychology); Undergraduate Students; United States
• ISSN: 0146-3934; 2691-3887

College students are constantly influenced by multiple stressors from different aspects of their lives and the society. Life and academic stress often generate difficulties and impact college students' mental health. College students have been stressed by intensive demands of developmental and academic tasks. With current economic contraction, many additional economic stressors could be added onto college students' existing stress levels. This study investigated the perceived economic stress among college students and focused on the differential impacts perceived by both genders and four grade levels. We surveyed 560 undergraduate students to assess their perceived economic stress, especially on employment conditions, economic outlook, and financial burden. Our results reveal statistically significant differences of perceived economic stress among students of grade levels but not between genders. Our research indicates that both male and female college students perceive an equivalent magnitude of economic stress and senior college students perceive highest economic stress. Adapted from the source document.