The Problem and Its Background
Introduction The term stress had none of its contemporary connotations before the 1920s. It is a form of the Middle English destresse, derived via Old French from the Latin stringere, "to draw tight." It had long been in use in physics to refer to the internal distribution of a force exerted on a material body, resulting in strain. In the 1920s and 1930s, the term was occasionally being used in biological and psychological circles to refer to a mental strain, unwelcome happening, or, more medically, a harmful environmental agent that could cause illness.
Stress plays a role in the body, behavior and feelings of people. Stress comes in many forms. Things like our environment, physiological well being, thoughts and social stresses and stress inside our homes can have an effect on learning Stress, particularly family related stress can have an impact on a student’s academic performance.
College students have many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve their finest academic performance. Different stressors such as time management, financial problems, sleep deprivation; social activities can all pose their own threat to a student’s academic performance. The way that academic performance is measured is through the ordinal scale of general weighted average (GWA). A student’s GWA determines many things such as class rank. Much research has been done looking at the correlation of many stress factors that college students’ experience and the effects of stress on their GWA.
There are many factors that can cause stress and influence a student’s academic performance and therefore affect his or her overall GWA. A college student may find him or herself in a juggling act, trying to support a family, taking care of job responsibilities, and at the same time trying to make the most of the college career. All of these factors can affect the grades of students, which ultimately affect the rest of their lives.