Stress levels in university/college female students at the start of the academic year

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate stress levels among Canadian female university students and determine cutoff scores for low, moderate, and high stress in this population. Participants: Hundred female undergraduates, mean age of 20.3 (SD = 1.8) years. Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed and students were approached in hallways at the start of the 2018 academic year and asked to complete a Student-life Stress Inventory (SSI). Results: Mean stress score was 138.2 (SD = 28.9) out of 255; 53% reported high exposure to stress with 80% reporting low behavioral response to stress. Conclusion: Self-report exposure to stress was high in many at the semester start but manageable and stress scores were similar to other campuses that administered the SSI. A study design that uses qualitative data to enhance the survey findings while longitudinal tracking over the academic year may better inform the extent of student stress exposure and how students effectively cope with this exposure.

Keywords:

• Females
• student-life stress inventory
• university college students

Conflicts of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of Canada and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of The University of Calgary.