Stress and coping among university students in Sierra Leone: Implications for social work practice to promote development through higher education

Abstract

This participatory action study involved interviews with 80 Sierra Leonean university students. Participants reported stress caused by personal challenges (financial, access to transportation, peer pressure, lack of emotional support), university resources (lack of accommodation, water, toilets, learning materials, technology), and issues with instructors (sexual harassment, bribery). Also, the students described their coping strategies, including ‘staying quiet’, seeking external support, turning toward God, engaging in recreation, and ‘encouraging myself’. Implications for social work interventions on the micro level, organizational level, and policy level are discussed in order to take a holistic, systems approach to promoting quality tertiary education in developing countries.