Research Article

Effect of stress on academic performance of students in

different streams
M. Maajida Aafreen1, V. Vishnu Priya2*, R. Gayathri2

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Stress arises when the combination of internal and external pressures exceeds the individual’s resource to
cope with their situation. For many young adults, college and school are the best time of life. These critical years can also be
undermined by depression, anxiety, and stress. Students who do not cope well with stress have a very drastic effect in their
studies and behavior. Materials and Methods: A sample of 80 students were asked to answer a survey prepared in online.
The results were presented graphically, inferentially, and descriptively. The objective of the current study was to assess the
stress among students of various professional colleges and its association with various academic, social, and health-related
factors. Result: Students studying in science stream had stress more compared to students studying in other streams. It affects
them mentally, physically, and emotionally. Students face anxiety and go in to depression which later leads to decreased
performance in academics. Conclusion: Stress is the body’s reaction to a challenge. This research can help us in finding the
reason and the causes of stress thus helping the students in finding a solution to their problems and help them enjoy their
schooling stress-free and tension-free.

KEY WORDS: Adolescents, Cortisol, Nor epinephrine, Psychological problems, Stressor

INTRODUCTION When stressed, the body thinks it is under attack and

Stress is primarily a physical response and is defined
as a condition typically characterized by the symptoms
of mental and physical tension or strain, as depression
or hypertension, which can result from a reaction
to a situation in which a person feels threatened or
pressured or sometimes both.[1] Depression is a state
of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect
the thoughts of a person, behavior, feelings, and sense
of well-being.[2] Depression is a significant contributor
to the global burden of disease and affects people in all
communication worldwide.
Stress is a central concept for understanding both life
and evolution.[3] Learning and memory can be affected
by stress. Although an optimal level of stress can
enhance ability, too much stress can cause physical and
mental health problems, reduce self-esteem and may
affect the academic achievements is the students.[4]
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switches to “fight or flight” mode, releasing a complex
mix of hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline,
cortisol and norepinephrine to prepare the body for
physical action. This causes a number of reactions,
from blood being diverted to muscles to shutting down
unnecessary bodily functions such as digestion. Stress
arises when the combination of internal and external
pressures exceeds the individual’s resources to cope
with their situation.
For many young adults, school is the best time of
life. These critical years can also be undermined by
depression, anxiety, and stress. Students are very likely
to experience some or many stressors which may test
their ability to cope: Adapting to a new environment,
balancing a heavy workload, making new friends,
becoming more independent, and dealing with myriad
of other issues.[5]
Adolescence is a stage of human development that
occurs between childhood and adulthood. Due to
fast physical and mental development at this stage,
students may experience incompatibility of their

Department of  Biochemistry Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha
1

University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 2Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of
Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

*Corresponding author: V. Vishnu Priya, Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of
Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: drvishnupriyav@gmail.com

Received on: 22-02-2018; Revised on: 25-03-2018; Accepted on: 27-04-2018

1776 Drug Invention Today | Vol 10 • Issue 9 • 2018

 M. Maajida Aafreen, et al.

mental development with their physical changes or The study population involved 80 students studying
with the social environment and then suffer from in different streams and in different specialties.
problems arising from inadequate adaptations. These A  maximum of 15 questions were prepared and
problems may further cause psychological troubles administered to the participants through the
and even induce deviant behaviors. Adolescence surveyPlanet link. The questions asked included the
is a dangerous period of time where young people main reason for their stress and the what all factors
experience self-organization and role confusion. played a role in stress, how does the stress affect
For them, stress mainly comes from academic tests, academically and how do you deal with stress. The
interpersonal relations, relationship problems, life survey questions were prepared and answered online.
changes, and career exploration. Such stress may
usually cause psychological, physical, and behavioral RESULTS
problems.[6]
The data collected from the survey was statistically
Stress is the most undermined syndrome in our analysed and well tabulated for interpretation.
society that is neglected since the element of mental
health associated with it. Excessive stress could DISCUSSION
lead to psychological problems such as depression
Homeostasis is a central concept to the idea of
and anxiety. When stress is perceived negatively or
stress. Most biochemical processes strive to maintain
becomes excessive, students experience physical
equilibrium, a steady state that exists more as an ideal
and psychological impairment.[7] Stress can come in
and less as an achievable condition.[11] Stress is known
different ways in an individual’s daily life. Stress is also
to be the fuel that the body uses to meet the daily
viewed as the body’s reaction, both neurologically and
challenges of our fast-paced modern life; for others, it is
physiologically, to adapt to a new condition (Franken,
the aversive by-product of such a life. Stress is associated
1994). When there is a change in life, we adjust
with the major life events, daily hassles, and changes
ourselves to fit in the new condition.[8] Stressors have
in life. Stress is created by excessive environmental
a major influence on mood, our sense of well-being,
factors and internal demands that need constant effort
behavior, and health. Acute stress responses in young,
healthy individuals may be adaptive and typically do
not impose a health burden. However, if the threat
is unremitting, particularly in older or unhealthy
individuals, the long-term effects of stressors can
damage health.[9] Stress can also affect the emotional
intelligence. It negatively impacts our ability to intuit
other people’s feelings, convey our own feelings and
communicate. Stress can also prevent us from being
aware of and controlling our emotions, getting along Chart 1: What is the major factor for stress in your academic
with others, adapting to change, and maintaining a level?
positive mood.

The major source of stress includes; change in sleeping

habits, vacation and breaks, change in eating habits,
increased work load, and new responsibilities. Elevated
stress levels among students can result in a decreased
performance in the academic accomplishments and
can affect both the physical and mental health of
students. Therefore, studies on coping with stress will
have a significant impact in higher education.[10] The Chart 2: Do you think parental pressure is a factor for your
various methods to reduce stress often include time stress?
management, social support, positive reappraisal, and
engagement in leisure. The main aim of the research
includes to find the effect of stress and its effect on
the academic performance of students studying in
different streams.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This survey was taken among school students studying Chart 3: Do you think peer pressure is also a factor for your
in different streams in different institutions globally. stress?

Drug Invention Today | Vol 10 • Issue 9 • 2018 1777

 M. Maajida Aafreen, et al.
Chart 4: What according to you are the academic factors
for stress?
Chart 5: What is your stress relieving factor?
and adjustment. High levels of stress can cause major
effects academic performance and mental health of
the students.[12] Academic stress can be conceptual as a
students interactions between environmental stressors,
the students cognitive appraisal of and coping with
the academic-related stressor and physiological or
psychological response to the stressor.[13] Learning
and memory can also be affected by stress though an
optimal level of stress can enhance learning ability,
too much stress can cause physical and mental health
problems, reduces self-esteem and may affect the
academic achievements of students.[14]
According the survey conducted, the majority of the
students were science streamed students.
Around 50% of the students were stressed due to
study-related issues whereas 28.4% faced stress due to
personal reasons and around 9.9% were stressed due
to parental pressure. Excessive stress among students
was found to reduce effectiveness of their study
which contributes to bad habits and results in negative
long-term consequences, including absenteeism,
poor academic performance, and school dropout.
Chart 1 shows the major factors for in academic level.
Academically, the major for stress was grades include
70% of the students were stressed academically due
to grades. Nearly 21.1% of the students were worried
due to failure and around 13.6% of the students
were faced with parental pressure and peer pressure.
Academic stress involves mental distress regarding
academic challenges or failure or even an awareness
of the possibility of academic failure.[15]
Chart 2 shows the number of students facing parental
pressure. Parents play an essential part in a child’s
life. There is the main backbone for the children. They
put pressure on their child to succeed because of their
1778
concern for the welfare of their children and their
awareness of the competition for getting admission in
reputed institutions. The overall unemployment situation
in India has also provoked parents to put pressure on
their children for better performance. Some of the
parents wish to fulfill their unfulfilled dreams through
their children. All these have made a normal pursuit
for adolescents leaving them to deal with the demands
of the school as well as that of their tutors.[16] Majority
of the children did face parental pressure sometimes
depending on the situation. 45.5% of the children said
that they did not face any parental pressure, whereas
33.3% faced parental pressure sometimes. Only a very
few of them faced parental pressure very often. Nearly
38.7% of the students thought that the main reason for
parental pressure was due to social prestige whereas
only 1.1% of the students perceived it to be due to
parents workload or pressure.
Chart 3 question whether peer pressure also adds to
their stress level and a majority of the students which
is of 37.7% faced peer pressure whereas 44.4% of
the students faced peer pressure only sometimes
depending on the situation or mainly during an
examination or test. A majority of the parents criticize
their child’s performance by comparing the latter’s
performance with that of the best performer in the
class. As a result, instead of friendship, there is a sense
of rivalry among classmates. Some parents even tend
to demean the achievement of the top scorer of the
class by stating that he/she might have been favored
by the teacher.[17]
Chart 4 shows that academically science stream
students face stress and pressure mainly due to
increased class workload and examinations. Whereas
commerce stream students faced pressure due to
examinations and missing of few classes. Nearly
47.5% of the students faced pressure due to increased
class workload. They felt that due to increased
workload and home assignments they had less time
to study and put enough efforts in studies. On days
when there are no academic tuitions, there are art or
music lessons, the students hardly get time to watch
TV, to play or to interact with neighbors freely or
even to get proper amount of sleep. Naturally such
students end up being nervous wrecks when the
examination pressure mounts. Teaching overload
and irregular teaching also caused stress among
students. Nearly 43.1% agreed that teaching overload
and irregular teaching overload did cause stress. The
education system in India is highly competitive due
to lack of an adequate number of good institutions
to accommodate the ever-expanding population of
children. Hence, children face competition at the entry
level of pre-primary education, and thereafter, at the
end of every year, in the form of examinations that
determine their promotion to the next grade. Nearly
Drug Invention Today | Vol 10 • Issue 9 • 2018
 M. Maajida Aafreen, et al.
67.9% did not feel that they were put in an institute
which is more that their capacity. Rather they felt
that the competition among their fellow mates were
quite high and had to live up to the expectations of
the society and their partners. Academic stress is seen
to be positively correlated with parental pressure and
psychiatric problems. Examination-related anxiety is
also observed to be related to psychiatric problems.
It is important to remember that mental constitution
or coping capacities vary from one child to another.
Therefore, children with poor coping capacities
become more prone to anxiety, depression, and fear of
academic failure. Academic anxiety is found to be the
least in case of adolescents from high socioeconomic
classes – which may be partly attributed to their
secured future at least in material aspects. The
prevalence of anxiety disorders tends to decrease with
higher socioeconomic status.[18]
Chart 5 explains the stress relieving factor and from
whom they sought help or opened up to. Majority
of the students opened up to their friends, and the
results show that 43.2% of tithe students would
listen to music for relieving the stress. Unexplained
headaches, migraine, and hypertension are becoming
very common among teenagers – often leading to
their stressful lives. Even recreational activities such
as sports, music, painting, or swimming have become
as competitive as studies.[19] Emotionally, students
felt tired and faced lack of sleep due to stress. 42.2%
and 30.9% faced tiredness during the day an lack
of sleep. Around 14.8% feel sick or ill. The impact
of academic stress is also far reaching: High levels
of academic stress have led to poor outcomes in the
areas of exercise, nutrition, substance use, and self-
care.[20] Furthermore, academic stress is a risk factor
for psychopathology. For example, fourth, fifth, and
sixth-grade girls who have higher levels of academic
stress are more likely to experience feelings of
depression.[21] Stress management techniques include
self-management, conflict resolution, and positive
attitude, self-talk, breathing, meditation, exercise, diet,
and rest. Effective stress management also involves
learning to set limits for the issues that create stress.[22]
Nearly 66.7% of the students did not feel a need to
visit a mentor to handle their stress.
CONCLUSION
Stress is the body’s reaction to a challenge. Although
stress is often perceived as bad, it can actually be good
in some respects. The right kind of stress can sharpen
the mind and reflexes. Stress is the body’s natural
response to challenges. When a student experiences
high levels of stress or chronic stress, regardless of her
age or grade, it can interfere with her ability to learn,
memorize, and earn good grades  --  as well as lead
Drug Invention Today | Vol 10 • Issue 9 • 2018
to poor physical, emotional, and mental health. By
learning about common stressors, a parent can help
to mitigate negative or chronic stress in a child’s life.
Excessive stress could lead to psychological problems
such as depression and anxiety. This this research could
help us in finding the main reason and helping the
students in finding a solution to their problems and help
them enjoy their schooling stress-free and tension-free.
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