In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Balaga, Airen Ross Marjury A. Limpot, Rejoice A. Mamalias, Cherry Mae P. Manzanares, Arryn Clyde M. Parreno, Winjil P.
March 2013
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study The word stress means different things to different people. In biology, stress is defined as an organism’s total response to an environmental condition or stimulus. . According to Martin Kwasi Abiemo (2009), Stress may be referred to as an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2004) stress is the excitement, feeling of anxiety, and/or physical tension that occurs when the demands placed on an individual are thought to exceed his ability to cope. This most common view of stress is often called distress or negative stress. The physical or psychological demands from the environment that cause this condition are called stressors.
However, stress seems to be an especially common feature of college student life, particularly at highly competitive colleges and universities. Freshmen students are very prone with stress, especially to those who are residing away from their home and family- the number one support system. According to USEP-UGTO counseling office, stress is a person’s response to a situation that requires adjustment or change. Finances, relationships, time management, academics and conflicts are some of the stressors that a college student may encounter. The challenges of life tend to be stressful and an attempt to avoid stress completely would lead to a rather boring existence. The problem comes when you experience too much stress. Although some stress reactions are part of deeper and more serious emotional problems, many are not, and can be handled with relatively simple counseling and stress-management techniques.
Statement of the Problem This study was conducted to determine the different reactions of the students mostly in freshmen towards the stressors in their college life. The proponents aim to present the general problem and specific problems: 1. What causes the stress of the college freshmen students? 2. How the students react with the different stressors? 3. How does it affects the students physically, emotionally, behaviorally, mentally and spiritually? 4. What might be the simplest steps to be taken to lessen the stressors?
Conceptual Framework
Figure 1.
Freshmen College Student
Stress
* To Teachers * To Students * To Parents Independent Variable Dependent Variable
To provide direction and flow of the study, a conceptual framework will be considered. The relationship between the two variables is shown in Figure.1. The independent variable of the study is stress with the factors: To Teachers, To Students, To Parents, while freshmen college student is the dependent variable.
Significance of the Study The outcome of the study would be significant and beneficial to the following stakeholders:
Students. Students would be able to know the different factors of stress. This study would also help them to find out some steps on how to overcome or lessen these stressors.
Teachers. Teachers would be more aware to the needs of students and may provide ways to help the students in coping up with stress. Teachers may extend their huge understanding and patience towards their students.
Parents. Parents would be more aware to the condition of their children. In addition, Parents would become more understanding and supportive to their children especially to those students who are residing away from their home.
Scope and Limitations The study is delimited to the reactions of the freshmen towards different stressors that they have encountered. The respondents of this study are the freshmen students of Bs in Business Administration section A.
Definition of Terms This section gives definitions to some terms in this study to have deeper understanding to the possible results
Stress-A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.
Stressors-Physical, psychological, or social force that puts real or perceived demands on the body, emotions, mind, or spirit of an individual.
Review of Related Literature and Study This section presents the literature and studies related to the query so that the readers will be given a clear picture of what is being emphasized in the study.
What is stress? Biologically speaking, stress is defined as an organism's total response to an environmental condition or stimulus. People defined stress as a response to a demand that is placed upon an individual. Without some stress, people would not get a lot done. On the other hand, stress for students specially in college is more common. Students would always think that stress is only a response to a negative events, but according to USEP-UGTO counseling office, stressors can be positive as well. That extra burst of adrenaline that helps you finish your final paper, perform well in sports, or meet any challenge is positive stress. If you cannot return to a relaxed state, then the stress becomes negative. (UHS)
Stressors and its Effects. Stressors are the physical or psychological demands from the environment that causes stress. According to the University of Florida research study, relationships, roommate conflicts, time management, academics, finances and other uncertainties are the most frequent stressors in a college student. Academic stressors include the student's perception of the extensive knowledge base required and the perception of an inadequate time to develop it (Carveth, Gesse, & Moss, 1996). Students report experiencing academic stress at predictable times each semester. College stressors may lead to unhealthy levels of stress which hinder students' abilities to socialize and to achieve their academic goals. Recognizing the sources of stress is important in preventing it from becoming unmanageable or debilitating. According to USEP-UGTO, freshmen students mostly experience the effects of stress physically, emotionally, behaviorally, mentally and spiritually.According to (Pegues, 2008), stress is the disease of this century. Nobody escapes its presence. It can be compared to the weather.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
According to Wikipedia (2013), “stress is an organism 's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition or a stimulus. Stress is a body 's way to react to a challenge. The body 's way to respond to stress is by the sympathetic nervous system which results in the Fight-or-Flight response. Stress typically describes a negative condition or a positive condition that can have an impact on an organism 's mental and physical well-being”. Research has shown that being too tense and/or living with too much stress has a significant negative impact on our lives.…
- 4848 Words
- 16 Pages
Good Essays -
In medicine, stress is a physical, chemical, or emotional development that causes strains that can lead to physical illness. In psychology, the term stress is used to refer both to heightened mental and body states and to the cause of such states. In, general, we can say that stress is your body's natural response to anything that you perceive as overwhelming, may it be positive or negative. It could be juggling too many sporting events for your children which you love, or juggling an overwhelming amount of debt.…
- 2019 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
If you were to ask one hundred different people the question “what is stress?” I can pretty much guarantee that you would get several different responses. Stress, as defined in our text, is the general physical and emotional state that accompanies the stress response. A stress response is either a physical or emotional reaction caused by a stressor, or anything that causes a stress response.” (Fahey, 302). In other words, there is something in your life that causes you to worry (stressor) and ignites a reaction in your body (stress response) that ultimately leaves you with stress. As we are all aware of, a stressor could be anything; work, financial issues, homework, relationships, the list goes on and on.…
- 975 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium. In other words, it's an omnipresent part of life. body. (psychologytoday.com)…
- 428 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Stress is what we experience through a complex interplay between external forces in the environment (stressors) and our perceived ability to adapt to them. Based on our textbook, stressors fall into three main types: catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles. As a high school senior (a month left of high school), my major stressor falls into significant life change category, which are both turning 18 and starting college. I feel like turning 18 will be seen as an adult, so I must act maturely and have tons of responsibility. Also, I am not ready for college at all, I do not want to leave my friends and family and am quite nervous about everything. Whenever I think about I am going to college very soon, I get sweaty palms (physiological) and feel overwhelmed (psychological).…
- 287 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
There have been various ways that stress has been defined. Stress in general terms is an emotive word which can be related to harmful and negative events. In psychological terms, individual differences make stress difficult to define as what is stressful to one, may not be stressful to another. Twining (1998) defined stress as “any situation or circumstance that threatens or that we believe will threaten our normal functioning and our ability to cope.” Personally, I think this is a good definition of stress as it takes into consideration that stress can be dealt with differently depending on how we individually perceive the situation that we are presented with.…
- 1518 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
What is Stress? Stress can show itself in many ways. It can be caused by a number of different things/situations. Over a period of time stress can manifest itself and grow into something that is not containable. A certain amount of stress can be beneficial to the system, - we all need a certain amount of stress to survive and deal with those emergencies that sometimes unexpectedly happen, and this reaction provides us with the necessary spark to kick us into action so not all stress is negative for the body. However, where it becomes out of control for some people, it can become an incapacitating condition. Stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to health, mood, productivity, relationships, and quality of life. Stress is often categorised into:-…
- 2062 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays -
Stress, as classified by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the tension or worry caused by problems in your life (Webster, I. 2003). It was once used as survival mechanism long ago, but now a burden to our lives and killer to our bodies. In today’s age, stress is the cause of 60% of all human illnesses and can be recognized as one of the top killer diseases (Stress is Killing You 2012).…
- 650 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Some Professors to other students can stress us College students as well. For example, Bullying, sexual harassment, violence can happen in College as it can happen out in the real-world and this could cause an individual to be depressed and could cause high levels of stress.…
- 677 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Stress in short could be defined as a human’s total response to environmental demands or pressure. These result from interactions, between a person and their environment, which they see as straining or exceeding their capabilities and therefore threatening their well-being.…
- 2352 Words
- 10 Pages
Best Essays -
Stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. When people feel stressed by something going on around them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals into the blood. These chemicals give people more energy and strength, which can be a good thing if their stress is caused by physical danger. But this can also be a bad thing, if their stress is in response to something emotional and there is no outlet for this extra energy and strength. Therefore there are two types of stress Eustress (Good) and Distress (Bad).…
- 2831 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain resulting from difficult circumstances. Stress can be caused by many things, from relationships to exams. Stress is not an illness but is considered to be very dangerous if not properly dealt with. stress can cause your blood pressure to increase which can cause many complications in the future.…
- 522 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Ross, S. E., Niebling, B. C., & Heckert, T. M. (1999). Sources of stress among college students. College Student Journal;,…
- 1254 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The pressure to perform academically is one of the primary causes of stress for college students. First, coursework can be very demanding and the competition for earning top marks can be very fierce. For instance, Students who want to do their best and who are planning to apply for admission to graduate school can be under a great deal of pressure as they struggle to excel in school. The same is true for those who are seeking scholarship funding or who must keep their grades up in order to keep existing scholarship awards.…
- 361 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
1. The first cause of stress for university students is the new university environment itself. Human emotion and behavior are influenced by the surrounding. Change of social circumstances can make the university students stress. If they go to university straight out of high school, they face the difficult challenge of leaving home, separating from their parents, and beginning the process of finding their own identity as an adult and their place in the world. They need to practice housekeeping, to manage a budget, and to find their way around strange place. These can cause the students sadness and tension. If they are international students, this will be acute.…
- 615 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays