misra & mckean: stress & college

Introduction

• Study focused on academic stress among college students and its relation to anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction.

• Authors: Ranjita Misra and Michelle McKean, published in American Journal of Health Studies, 2000.

Time Management and Academic Performance

• Effective time management can enhance academic performance (Campbell & Svenson, 1992).

• Suggested strategies include:

  • Starting large tasks well before due dates.

  • Breaking down large tasks into smaller ones.

  • Completing small tasks on a regular schedule.

• Despite recommendations, students often ignore these techniques, leading to increased stress before exams (Brown, 1991).

• Time management is multidimensional, including goals and priorities, organized workspaces, and time control (Macan et al., 1990).

Academic Stress and Anxiety

• Hypotheses:

  • Positive correlation between academic stress and anxiety.

  • Negative correlation between academic stress and self-reported time management behaviors and leisure satisfaction.

• Higher leisure satisfaction correlated with lower perceived academic stress.

• Examined differences based on gender and age regarding time management and academic stress.

Sample and Methods

• Sample: 249 full-time undergraduate students from a Midwestern university.

• Random selection from University Registrar’s directory, yielding a 42% response rate.

• Demographics:

  • Majority (91%) white, average age 21 (SD=2.0), with 74.6% females and 36% sophomores.

  • Health behaviors: 25% smokers and 72.6% reported alcohol use in the past week.

• Instruments used:

  • Academic Stress: Gadzella's Student-Life Stress Inventory (SLSI).

  • Leisure Satisfaction: Beard and Ragheb’s Leisure Satisfaction Measurement (LSM).

  • Time Management: Macan et al.’s Time Management Behaviors (TMB) scale.

  • Anxiety: Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

Statistical Analysis

• Used Student t-tests and ANOVA to explore gender and age differences in academic stress, anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction.

• Pearson correlation coefficients tested associations between academic stress and other variables.

Results

• Significant differences in stress responses based on gender and year in school.

• Higher stress in females due to self-imposed stress; lower anxiety levels in males.

• Females displayed better time management strategies except for organization.

• Positive correlations between effective time management behaviors and reduced academic stress.

Implications of Findings

• Effective time management appears to lower academic stress.

• Recommendations for university faculty and counselors to promote time management workshops.

• Need for more active participation in time management courses and stress management programs.

Limitations

• Correlational study design precludes causal relationships.

• Reliance on self-report measures and the sample's demographic limitations may affect findings.

Future Research Suggestions

• Explore mediating variables that could explain the correlation between academic stress and other measures, such as coping mechanisms and social support.

• Conduct longitudinal studies to strengthen the findings.

• Investigate associations in more diverse populations for better generalization.