Determinants of the college students' psychosocial adjustment to academic stress Cover Image

Odrednice psihosocijalne prilagodbe studenata na akademski stres
Determinants of the college students' psychosocial adjustment to academic stress

Author(s): Enedina Hasanbegović-Anić, Đenita Tuce
Subject(s): Psychology, Higher Education
Published by: Logotip
Keywords: Lazarus'model of stress;academic stress;depression;

Summary/Abstract: This research study aims to examine total and specific contributions of some personal and environmental characteristics, cognitive appraisals and coping strategies to individual differences in anxiety and depression as a measure of college students' psychosocial adjustment to academic stress. The research is based on Lazarus' model of stress and its conducted on a sample of 366 students of University in Sarajevo of an average age of M=21.54 (SD=3.09). Data were collected by group work method. The following measuring instruments were applied: Self-assessment scale for measuring Big Five personality factors, Self rating social suport scale, Sources of academic stress questionnaire, Cognitive appraisals questionnaire, Coping strategies scale, Zung self rating depression scale and Zung self rating anxiety scale. Results of hierarchical regression analysis shows that the described set of predictor variables can explain 40.2% of the total variance of anxiety and 48.3% of the total variance of depression. Statistically significant predictors of anxiety are neuroticism (β=.41; p<.01), perceived social support from friends (β=-.15; p<.05) and predictability of a stress situation (β=.15; p<.01), while the value of the variable of a planning of an action is on a boarder of the statistical significance (β=-.12; p=.05). Further, statistically significant predictors of depression are neuroticism (β=.45; p<.01) and predictability of a stress situation (β=.17; p<.01) while the value of the variable of a perceived social support from friends is on a boarder of the statistical significance (β=-.11; p=.05). The results demonstrate a valuable contribution to knowledge in the field of research of stress focused on planning and implemention of effective programs of prevention.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 82-107
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: Bosnian