Stress Among University Students in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Stress is an unavoidable fraction of existence that generally reaches a broad spectrum of population groups with no concern for their age, gender, educational status, or socioeconomic status. University students undergo several educational, environmental, social, and psychological adjustment problems in the modern campus environment, influencing their psychosocial well-being and learning outcomes. This study focuses on examining the stress level of university students in Osun State. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to assess the level of stress experienced by university students in Osun State. Method: A cross-sectional survey was used to study 111 University students in Osun State with the aid of Google Form (an online data collection tool). Questionnaire was used to find out the level of stress among students using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which is a ten-item questionnaire that measures the degree to which life situations are appraised as stressful. Result: Findings suggest that majority of the students reported a moderate level of stress. The causes of social, academic, physical, and psychological stress showed that Social Stress (6.14) and Academic Stress (8.05) had higher mean score compared to Physical (5.08) and Psychological Stress (3.44). Conclusion: Stress among students can result in defective judgment, absenteeism self-medication, and addiction to substances like smoking cigarettes, and alcohol drinking. Persistent susceptibility to stressful situations leads to deterioration of academic performance, poor relationship with friends and family members, loss of memory, and severe health problems. To achieve an improved mental well-being, university decision makers should provide an enabling physiological, psychological, social, and academic environment coupled with counselling to reduce student’s stress. Key words: Stress, Stressors, Stress factors, University students .