Student Descriptions of Stress

student Descriptions of StressTitleHow do second- yr psychological science scholarly souls come upon theirexperiences of university tensity?AbstractPurposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were apply as well as Interpretative phenomenological summary being utilise to analyse the facsimiles and quality checks were implemented to increase the validity of the outline. Three place themes were identified with from each ane superordinate theme had two sub-themes each. Such qualitative seek is rare in the university cogitate try literature for psychology learners. Suggestions for format ahead research regarding schoolchilds header with university tautness.Introduction There are today more students aiming to enter an increasingly competitive parentage market, which exacerbates the pressure to light upon a respectable degree (Robotham & Julian, 2006). In addition to financial and business pressures, as well as completing exams and assignments is a period of epochal change in a students life, with heightened levels of underscore (Fisher & Hood, 1987). In a test conducted by Hirsch and Ellis (1996) the came to the conclusion that university students pull extreme pressure on themselves to lay out a good grade, earn a degree, and get a job as soon as they finish their studies. Although, this is practical to achieve, the negative outcome that come with sort of pressure could ca example a student to do poorly in one assignment or exam referable to the variant they induct subjected themselves too and stool yet more tenseness for themselves by punishing themselves for not achieving as good of grade as they could have. Moyle and Parkes (1999) reckond that ca- throw out the high levels of focussing and change students are faced passimuniversity and the pressure placed on their coping resources, turn out from friendsand family is invaluable during this period. McEwan (2000) excessively claimed that disposition regions respon d to ague and chronic punctuate and show changes inmorphology and chemistry. Using the previous relevant research as a guidelineits expected that the participants will describe their experiences ofuniversity idiom by unveil the sources of their stress and how they dealwith their stress.Method hold over 1. tabular array depicting demographic information of participants employ in this sample ParticipantsFour second year students studying psychology at University participated in this piece of research. It was key to find one ego information from a human body of different perspectives however is some homogeneousness in some participants much(prenominal) as gender, age, and subject of study (see Table 1). Purposive sampling was employ in this piece of research because it representation that the detective screw select participants based upon a particular excogitation to meet their particular take aways.ProcedureA semi-structured interview was used to suck up selective in formation from the participants regarding their experiences of universitystress. This was decidedly the best method because it meant that the researchercould collect selective information relating to university stress apply prepared questions justcould too delve deeper into a participants answer by using probing questionsthat encourage expansion on a certain point. The interviewer began amplyinforming the participant that the interview would be sound recording recorded and usedanonymously to analyse later on. This was fully by a full explanation briefedabout the purpose of the experiment and that the participant has the right towithdraw at anytime. The participant would be interviewed using the preparedquestions along with any probing questions used, as well as debriefed and afterthe participants were interviews the recording was then transcribed.Analytical approachA qualitative study was thought to bebest because it meant that the researcher could gather more featureed data f romthe participants. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was the chosenmethod of analysis in this piece of research because it al execrableed the interviewerto explore the subjective experiences of the participant, and help to describeand understand the respondents account of the processes by which they makesense of their experiences of university stress (Brocki, Wearden,2006). full of liferealism is the ontological stance of IPA this core that in that location is a ingenuousnesshowever it is subjective because everyone records reality in different ways(Furlong, Marsh, 2010). This content that the epistemological stance of IPA isinterpretive because it attempts to make sense of the subjective views (Furlonget al, 2010). IPA was used as a method of analysing the data by creatingtranscripts from each participants audio recording. Each transcript was readseveral times so that the researcher was familiar the data which was then codedin order to create rising themes whi ch would eventually become categorizedinto superordinate themes. The process was the same for each participantresulting in a table previewing the superordinate themes, sub-themes, andquotes from the transcripts to support the population of the themes.ReflexivityQualitative analysis is a subjectiveprocess and IPA recognises that a researchers perspective usually affects theanalysis (Golsworthy & Coyle, 2001).Having a good understanding of IPA means that the researchers personalperspective relative to the research topic is presented, to assist the readersinterpret the analysis and for transparency (Elliott et al. 1999).The researchers interpretative modelling has been influenced by previousresearch in stress. It is also recognised that the analysis is influenced bythe researchers perspective and the frame snip applied to understand the data.Findings Table 2. Table of key themes Effects of student stressThe results of how the participants expound their experiences of university rela ted stress revealed that on that pointwere a stove of different make of stress that can stretch from physical set up to psychological effects, which were found to be a dominant effects ofstress (see appendix 2 for themes and quotations). The psychological effects ofstress can be seen in Iriss transcript in which she stated thatI dont know how to put it in words, not just stress, it was the worst feeling ever.When you consider what virtually people go through with(predicate) in their lives, for her to say it was the worst feelingever goes to show the toll stress had taken on her causing her to feelthe worst she has ever entangle. There is also grounds in Jessicas transcript inwhich she described one of her experiences in dealings with university relatedstress as feeling so much anxiety that it felt like she was drowning. There isalso evidence in indigos transcript which reveals that he suffers from highlevels of anxiety however without mention of a drowning sensation. There is furtherevidence of psychological effects of stress in Smokies transcript which mention that he regularly suffers from mini breakdowns that help to motivatehim to work but the motivation goes after a day or two which creates another(prenominal)mini breakdown delinquent to the buildup of responsibilities.There is also evidence to bespeak thatthe participants suffered from physiological effects as well as psychologicaleffects. The main evidence comes from Anils transcript in which he describedone effect of his university related stress that stated My face gets lots of spots when I am feeling stress. For the effects of stress to manifest ina physical way is worrying but not uncommon, for example in Smokies transcripthe revealed that he cries a lot because of university related stress. In Irisstranscript she describes an effect of university related stress by revealingthat coping with all the responsibilities and stress of university makes herfeel weak, which would be categorized as a physiological effect as well as a possible psychological effect due to the fact that you feel weakness alternativelythan show it.Sources of student stressThe results of how the participantsdescribed their experiences of university related stress revealed that therewere a variety of different sources of stress for university students whichrange from university work such as assignments or exams, to life aftergraduation. Both are considered in these participants transcripts to bedominant sources of stress. University work as a source of stress for itsstudents is unmixed in all transcripts with perhaps the most evident comes fromAnils transcript in which he states that A time umm when I see stress the most during university is when I have a massive report due. This not only reveals one source ofstress for this student to be reports send by the university but it also goes toshow that this participant feels most punctuate at university when set reports.This also relates to Smoki es transcript in which he described his stresslevels as being high when it came to deadlines which isnt that disstandardized toAnils quotation due to the fact that both feel highly stressed because of workset by the university. Further evidence can be found in Jessicas transcript inwhich she described her feeling of drowning in anxiety to be a result of a lackof understanding when it came to analysing data. Evidence for his future tense life as a sourceof stress for university student is evident in the transcripts but the mostevident comes from Smokies transcript which stated that teachers do things for me and like my parents do things for me, because I dont feel ready to do things for myself.Again, this not only reveals his mainfear for his future life to be, but it also shows how he has got as far as hehas, which is down to the support he gets from those around him. This can alsobe support by Jessicas transcript which described her opinion of her futurelife as one of confusion as to what her she would be doing in her future lifeand whether she would roll in the hay it or not. There is also evidence in Irisstranscript which reveals that she is solace struggling with dealing with all theuniversity related stress but she is aspirant that her future life will bebetter.Dealing with student stress The results of how the participantsdescribed their experiences of university related stress revealed that therewere several different methods of dealing with stress used by the participantsranging from the support of family and friends, to the amount of support theygive themselves. Evidence of support from family and friends as a method ofdealing with stress can be found in all the participants transcripts, however,the main evidence for this point comes from Iriss transcript in which she statesthatMy mum is always being there for me and loves me and Ihave had some other woman in my life, I talk to her about my problems.This reveals evidence of support not only fromhe r spawn but also from another woman who isnt a family member but would beregarded by her as a friend that supports her. This example is not unlikeJessicas transcript in which she reveals that she uses her flatmates as amethod of coping with her stress.Another example of a participant usingthe support of family and friends as a method of dealing with universityrelated stress comes from Smokies transcript in which he says that he gets alot of help from his parents and when he usually gets stressed out withuniversity work he talks to his friends.Self-support is what a person does ordoesnt do to help themselves throughout their first two geezerhood of university.Evidence from Jessicas transcription states thatI procrastinate a lot whenever I have something to do for Uni, suddenly I get a major(ip) interest to do something else.This clearly shows the lack ofself-support she gave herself which meant that instead of doing university workshe would neglect her responsibilities and find so mething else to do. Thisresults in a build up of responsibilities that can create an overwhelmingfeeling of stress and possibly cause other problems for the student accordingto the evidence previously discussed regarding the manifestation ofpsychological problems into physicals ones, for example Anil and his facialspots.More evidence for a lack of self-supportcan be seen is all the transcripts, for example in Smokies transcript in whichhe describes himself as a corner-cutter who often does things he doesnt enjoywith half of his effort even though he understands that this is one of thereasons wherefore he gets behind on his university work creating more stress forhimself. Further evidence can be found in Anil and Iriss transcripts in whichthey both reveal that they push when it comes to self-support. Anil getsstressed when he attempts to tackle problems by himself, whereas Iris goesthrough periods of time where she feels like she cannot deal with problems byherself. DiscussionIn su mmation, the analysis of the datahas revealed that the participants all describe their experiences of universitystress in a similar manner the effects of stress on students, sources ofstress for students, and dealing with student stress. Each superordinate themehad two sub-themes each, which were the result of a variety of emergent themesthat were combined and adapted to equate to the final themes in the analysis.The participants descriptions of theeffects of university stress related to those described by McEwen (2000) whobelieved that stress began in the brain and affected all organs and muscles butnone more so than the brain. Using his research combined with this experimentsdata means that its possible grade psychological effects of stress to theburden of chronic stress which can result in behavioral changes (smoking,excessive eating, binge drinking, little or no sleep). Physiological effects ofstress can be localised using the same method in which McEwan (2000) claimedthat brai n regions respond to acute and chronic stress and show changes inmorphology and chemistry. This could explain why the participants were affectedthe ways they were.The touchyies related to universitywork but more specifically exams and assignments, can be linked to Yumatov(2001) who reported that exams can influence a strong psychological andemotional reaction in students, with feelings of stress experienced before andduring, that can persist until they receive their results afterwards, with manyexperiencing anxiety and stress over the outcome. Gadzella(1998)argued that its the uncertainty and anxiety that is the main cause of thestress as opposed to the exam itself. The pressure of graduation as well aspost graduation life is as serious source of stress as any according to thedata from this experiment and is also back up by Hirsch and Ellis (1996).This could explain what the sources of the participants university stress was.The participants experience of dealingwith university str ess can be related to other similar cases such as Moyle andParkes (1999) who believe that given the high levels of stress and changestudents are faced throughout university and the pressure placed on theircoping resources, support from friends and family is invaluable during thisperiod. Without friends, students have more limited resources at their disposalto assist them in the university work as well as emotional support. An absenceof friends also makes it more likely to consider dropping out (Paul &Brier, 2001).This could explain why the participants used the supportive systems they used.Using a qualitative approach provideddepth and detail in that it looked deeper than analysing ranks and counts byrecording attitudes, feelings and behaviours. Similar to the reason why asemi-structured interview was chosen because it allows the interviewer to bemore spontaneous in their oppugn without being too sporadic. That beingsaid, there are usually fewer people are studied in qualitative re port becausea collection of data is generally more time consuming that vicenary datacollection and therefore unless time, staff and budget allows it is generally demand to include a smaller sample size. It also means that its difficultto generalise because fewer people are studied and its not possible togeneralise results to that of the population. A qualitative report is alsodependent on skills the of the researcher particularly in the case ofconducting interviews, focus groups and observation. As an boilers suit summation ofthis study it can be concluded that there is need for further research regardinguniversity stress as a result of the data and previous relevant research.ReferencesAbouserie, R. (1994).Sources and levels of stress in relation to locus of tick off and self esteem inuniversity students. Educational psychology, 14(3), 323-330.Brocki, J. M., & Wearden, A. J.(2006). A critical military rank of the use of interpretative phenomenologicalanalysis (IPA) in health psy chology. Psychology and health, 21(1),87-108.Dahl, C. M., & Boss, P. (2005). Theuse of phenomenology for family therapy research. Research methods in familytherapy, 2, 63-84.Denovan, A., & Macaskill, A. (2013).An interpretative phenomenological analysis of stress and coping in first yearundergraduates. 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