Abstract:
OBJECTIVE
To determine the most prevalent types of stress among
college students in Pakistan as well as to identify the coping
strateg ies to deal with the stress.
STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional study
PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The study was conducted in different educational
institutions of Islamabad and duration of study was 6 months
fromJuly2015 to December2015.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
The sample consisted of 120 college students selected
through purposive convenient sampling technique. There
were 76 males and 46 females in the participants. The
Student Life Stress Inventory (5LSI), a self-reported measure
was used to assess types and sources of stress and Brief COPE
was used to assess coping st rategies of students. The
information regarding socia-demographic variables was
obtained on a separate sheet. The data was analyzed through
SPSS 21.
RESULTS
The scores of 98% of the study participants fe ll between 25%
and 75%. The top five stressors in the respondents were: SelfImposed
stresses, Emotional stresses, Cognitive Appraisal,
Pressures and Changes. The least common stressor reported
by respondents was behavioral reactions to stressors. The
top five coping mechanisms of our participants were:
Relig ion (6.32+ 1.68), Active Coping (6.19+ 1.55), Acceptance
(5.92+ 1.83), Planning (5.80+1.61) and Positive refram ing
(5.66+ 1.68)
CONCLUSION
Self-imposed, emotional, cognitive appraisal, pressures and
changes were dominant stressors. The most common coping
behaviors present were using religion, active coping,
acceptance of their stresses, planning and positive
reframing. Female students were found to react emotionally
morethan male student s.
