STRESS AND COPING MECHANISMS AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

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.