An Assessment Of Academic Stress Among Undergraduate Students Of Nursing Science

An Assessment Of Academic Stress Among Undergraduate Students Of Nursing Science
Abstract
This study was carried out on the assessment of academic stress among undergraduate students of nursing science Evangel University Akaeze as a case study. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of Nursing students in Evangel University Akaeze. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 220 respondents and 210 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using mean scores. The result of the findings reveals that the causes of academic stress among Nursing Students include; long studying hours without break, pressure from parents, social life etc. The study also revealed that stress has numerable effect on Nursing Students, among which are; mental breakdown, frequent headaches, increases depression, low productivity, disorganization, and excessive worry. Therefore, it is recommended that Nursing Students should personally seek for strategies that works best for them in managing work place stress. And the service of a therapist should be employed in severe stress issues. Lastly, Nursing Students should consider the following strategies for coping with stress; prioritizing work, divert thinking (do something fun), proactiveness, disregarding, networking, and regular exercise.
Table of Content
- Title Page
- Certification
- Dedication
- Acknowledgement
- Table of Content
- List of Tables
- Abstract
Chapter One:
Introduction
- 1.1 Background of the Study
- 1.2 Statement of the Problem
- 1.3 Objective of the Study
- 1.4 Research Questions
- 1.5 Research Hypothesis
- 1.6 Significance of the Study
- 1.7 Scope of the Study
- 1.8 Limitation of the Study
- 1.9 Definition of Terms
- 1.10 Organisations of the Study
Chapter Two:
Review of Literature
- 2.1 Conceptual Framework
- 2.2 Theoretical Framework
- 2.3 Empirical Review
Chapter Three:
Research Methodology
- 3.1 Research Design
- 3.2 Population of the Study
- 3.3 Sample Size Determination
- 3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
- 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
- 3.6 Method of Data Collection
- 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
- 3.8 Validity of the Study
- 3.9 Reliability of the Study
- 3.10 Ethical Consideration
Chapter Four:
Data Presentation and Analysis
- 4.1 Data Presentation
- 4.2 Analysis of Data
- 4.3 Answering Research Questions
- 4.4 Test of Hypotheses
- 4.5 Discussion of Findings
Chapter Five:
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
- 5.1 Summary
- 5.2 Conclusion
- 5.3 Recommendation
- References
- APPENDIX
- QUESTIONNAIRE
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Stress has become an important topic in academic circle as well as in our society. Many scholars in the field of behavioural science have carried out extensive research on stress and its outcomes and concluded that the topic needed more attention (Rees and Redfern, 2000; Ellison, 2004; Ongori and Agolla, 2008; Agolla, 2009). Stress in academic institutions can have both positive and negative consequences if not well managed (Smith, 2002; Tweed et al., 2004; Stevenson and Harper, 2006). Academic institutions have different work settings compared to nonacademic and therefore one would expect the difference in symptoms, causes, and consequences of stress in thetwo set up (Elfering et al., 2005; Chang and Lu, 2007). It is important to the society that students should learn and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills that will in turn make them contribute positively to the development of the general economy of any nation. However, the intricate academic environment sometimes poses great medical problems to the students’ lives (Danna and Griffin, 1999; Dyck, 2001; Grawitch et al., 2007; Ongori, 2008) that tend to negate the positive gains that one would expect after completion of University. These scholars assertion needs attention if the needed stress management in university have to be effective. It is important for the university to maintain wellbalanced academic environment conducive for better learning, with the focus on the students’ personal needs. Students’ expectations vary with respect to personalityand their backgrounds which influences on how one perceive the environment around him/her. Students at the university have different expectations, goals, and values that they want to fulfil at the university, which is only possible if the students’ expectations, goals, and values are integrated with that of the university (Goodman, 1993).
Stress is an unavoidable phenomenon in students’ lives. In the academic setting, stress can arise from both academic and non-academic factors. These include socio-cultural and psychological attributes. Sources of stress in the academic setting may include difficulty with coping with a new environment, nature of as well as workload of course of study, relationship with other students, parental and teachers’ expectations of students as well as own expectation of academic performance. Stress can have either a positive or negative effect on a student’s academic performance depending on the severity. Minimal levels of stress can result in positive outcomes such as motivation and improved task performance while severe stress can result in anxiety, depression, and social dysfunctions. High levels of stress associated with poor academic performance (Sohail, 2013). Low stress however, may not necessarily result in good performance as under the circumstances, some students may perceive the task at hand as unchallenging and may easily get bored (Uchil, 2017). This may lead to poor academic performance. Stress affects students learning and academic performance negatively.as it can lead to anxiety, sleep problems and interpersonal conflicts. Majority of students with stress reported poor self-esteem and high depression (Baste & Gadkari, 2014 ). Stress has been linked to indulgence in risky behaviour such as alcohol and other drugs consumption, unprotected sex, physical inactivity, poor eating and sleeping patterns among students (King, Vidowel & Sigh, 2014; Bennett & Holloway,2014 ) Also reported in students with academic stress are depression, anxiety, behavioural problems among other negative manifestations (Deb, Stoudl & Sun,2015). In the same vein, fears of failure and negative evaluation of the future have been linked to incidences of depression which result from stress.
In the previous studies, it was reported that nurses used mostly problem-focused coping rather than emotion-focused coping strategies and that nurses used a variety of coping strategies in order to deal with numerous workplace stressors (Chang et al., 2006; Tyson & Pongruengphant, 2004; Xianyu & Lambert, 2006; Welbourne et al., 2007). Studies have shown that some demographic variables have significant association with coping strategies adopted by nurses (Jose & Bhat, 2013; Payne, 2001). Some of these variables are age, marital status, married status, years of working experience, experience in current area, area of work and daily working hours. Each coping strategy function independently in stressful situations, the type of strategy adopted largely depends on the specific profile of the individual’s stress perception and demographic characteristics (kariv & Heiman, 2013). It has been established that nursing is stressful (Nad,2009; Papageorgiou, Karabetsou, Nikolakou & Paylakou, 2007) but work on how nurses cope or manage occupational stress and the demographic determinants are rather few and inconclusive. In order to fill this gap in knowledge, this study, therefore, investigated the coping strategies of nurses to work-related stress in tertiary hospitals in Madonna University.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
University students have many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve optimal academic performance. A number of researches have been done looking at the correlation of many stress factors that university students experience and the effects of stress on their GPA. However, a review of literature indicates that not much have been prioritized onthe stress-related research. Moreover, a majority of the investigation has taken place in the United States of America and the emphasis was placed more on the students in the medical field.
However, there is not much research conducted to examine these particular findings in our local universities and Nigerian university particularly in the evangel university Akaeze. Therefore, it is timely to conduct research to examine this particular issue as findings from the present study would benefit various parties in the university especially the students and the Academic Affair Department in planning and conducting necessary programmes for the students so that stress-related factors could be reduced and better academic performance could be achieved by the students.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
Generally, the study aims at an assessment of academic stress among undergraduate students of nursing science evangel university akaeze. Specifically, the study aims to;
- Determine knowledge level of stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university, Akaeze.
- Identify the causes of academic stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university, Akaeze.
- Determine perceived effect of stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university, Akaeze.
- Identify the strategies to reduce academic stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university
1.4 Research Question
The study will be guided by the following questions;
- What is the level of stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university, Akaeze?.
- What are the causes of academic stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university, Akaeze?
- What is perceived effect of stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university, Akaeze?
- What are the strategies to reduce academic stress among undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university?
1.5 Hypothesis of the study
- Ho: there is no significant relationship between academic stress and academic performance of undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university
- Hi: there is a significant relationship between academic stress and academic performance of undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university
1.6 Significance of the Study
The study will be immense significance to a wide spectrum of the Evangel university.
Again, this intent contributing to the existing knowledge on effects of stress on academic performance of undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university. It will enlighten schools lecturers and the entire parent on stress of the students, thereby helping them to guard against problem in colleges. Moreover, this project will equally enlighten parents on the problem of too much stress which their children sometimes involves themselves.
The recommendation of the researchers may also contributes to the efforts at solving the problems of stress encountered by undergraduate nursing students in Evangel university.
The work will also be of benefits to students and other users of the library. This is because, after completion of this research, a copy will be taken to the library for public consumption. Students will benefits from the findings of this research. .
1.6 Scope of the Study
The study was delimited to the academic stress among undergraduate students of nursing science Evangel university Akaeze. This study is delimited to the undergraduate students of nursing science Evangel university Akaeze only. The respondents would be randomly selected with questionnaire for the students..
1.7 Limitation of the Study
Like in every human endeavour, the researcher encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. More so, the researcher simultaneously engaged in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Stress:
Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous.
Work Stress:
Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.
Stress Management:
Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person’s level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning.
Work-Life Balance:
Work-life balance is the state of equilibrium where a person equally prioritizes the demands of one’s career and the demands of one’s personal life. Some of the common reasons that lead to a poor work-life balance include: Increased responsibilities at work and Working longer hours.
1.9 Organizations of the Study
The chapter one consist of the introductory part of the study which includes the study background, the statement of the research problem, the study objective and scope of the study.
The second chapter is a critical review of other literatures relevant to the study and its objectives including the theoretical framework for the study. While the third chapter is methods of data collection, sampling and data analysis used in conducting the study. The fourth chapter centres around the research findings including an analysis of how it relates to previous findings. The fifth chapter consists of the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations base on the study objectives.
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations:
5.1 Introduction
This chapter summarizes the assessment of academic stress among undergraduate students of nursing science evangel university akaeze as a case study. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.
5.2 Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was on the assessment of academic stress among undergraduate students of nursing science evangel university akaeze as a case study. The study is was specifically set to; identify the causes of stress among Nursing Students, ascertain the effect of stress among Nursing Students, and determine the strategies for coping with stress among Nursing Students.
The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 210 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent are nursing students in Madonna University.
5.3 Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommended that;
- The causes of stress among Nursing Students include; long working hours without break, pressure from parents, incompetency of subordinate, theft, and unfavorable economic order.
- Stress has numerable effect on Nursing Students, among which are; mental breakdown, frequent headaches, increases depression, low productivity, disorganization, and excessive worry.
- The applicable strategies for coping with stress among Nursing Students include; prioritize work, divert thinking (do something fun), proactiveness, disregarding, networking, and regular exercise.
5.3 Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, in order to achieve a stable academic success, one not affected by stress for the university undergraduates, the following propositions are made:
1. Prevention of Over-scheduling of Classes:
Classes of the university undergraduate should not be jammed-packed. Break periods should be given at intervals so as to allow for relaxation, recreation, rest and sleep. This would allow the students to be well-rested before the next class and regain loss and expended energy.
2. Guidance and Counselling Program:
This is a one on one interaction between the counselor or professional and client o counselee to resolves issues or problems that might arise in the life of the individual. The general goal of counseling is to help the individual. The general goal of counseling is to help the individual become independent, capable of making informed decision on similar issues that may arise in similar years. Through this medium, student’s emotional issues can be handled by professional who will assist them in making better informed decision.
3. Provision of Financial Aids e.g. Scholarship Funds:
Financial aids should be given to students to help sustain their academic pursuit. This aids, could come in form of scholarship funds, bursary, borrowing funds from financial institutions, etc. Students with low financial aid suffer from financial stress as they are always in a constant state of anxiety. Flude (1978), according to him, the focus on the difference in the performance of students of privileged parents and students of lower families has direct attention in the fact that students of privileged parents are at an advantage, because their parents are able to provide them with their immediate needs and materials unlike some of their mates with low income parents.
4. Through Health Education:
According to WHO, health education is a combination of learning experiences designed to help individuals and communities improve their health by increasing their knowledge or influencing their attitudes. Many students or individuals are not even in the know of what stress is, its signs, symptoms as well as its causes. Through health education, they can be well informed and influenced to practicing behavior and lifestyle favourable to healthful living.
This can be achieved through the following medium:
- Including health education in their curriculum because health is relative to every student irrespective of their course of study. As a result, they should be well informed on their health.
- Through organization of seminars and workshops.
Students can be well informed and equipped as it concerns their health if seminars and workshops can be organized were, this issues can be discussed. - Through media communication such as television houses, newspapers, journals, articles, pamphlets, oral communication (The spoken word), handbills, newsletter, etc, health information can be communicated.

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