Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T07:22:51.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Academic stress, self-efficacy, social support, and health behaviours in female Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Nadya M. Kouzma  and
Gerard A. Kennedy
Nadya M. Kouzma
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Victoria University
Gerard A. Kennedy*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Victoria University
*
Department of Psychology, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, MELBOURNE Victoria MC 8001, Phone: 03 9365 2481, Fax: 03 9365 2218, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This study examined academic stress in female Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students in terms of somatic symptoms and mood disturbance before, during, and after the midyear examination period and also examined the role of self-efficacy, number of social supports, social support satisfaction, and health behaviours in mediating the effects of stress on symptoms and mood disturbance. It was hypothesised that (a) student would report increased somatic symptoms and mood disturbance during the examination period and that (b) self-efficacy, social support (number and satisfaction), and health behaviours would account for a significant proportion of variance for somatic symptoms and mood disturbance before, during, and after the exam period. The participants were 51 VCE students from a large Catholic girls’secondary college in Melbourne. Four weeks before the exam period, the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, Reported Health Behaviours Checklist, Short Form Social Support Questionnaire, Symptoms Checklist, and Profile of Mood States were administered.The Symptoms Checklist and Profile of Mood States were administered again during the exam week and four weeks after the exam period. Statistical analyses showed that the VCE examination period was associated with significantly increased self-reports of somatic symptoms and mood disturbances that were strongly indicative of high levels of stress. Self-efficacy was found to have a weak role in mediating the stress response during the exam week. Social support did not account for any of the variation in academic stress. Health behaviours accounted for a small but significant proportion of the variance in stress after the exam period. It was concluded that there is a need to study other factors that may attenuate the academic stress response in adolescent secondary school students. The perceptual and cognitive appraisal of academic stressors is suggested as an area that may be worthy of examination.The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the impact that academic stress may have on adolescents’ health during this critical period of development.

Keywords

Academic StressAdolescenceExam StressHealth BehavioursHigh School StudentsMood DisturbanceSelf-EfficacySocial SupportSomatic SymptomsVictorian Certificote Of Education
Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , 2000 , pp. 24 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agarwal, M. (1976). A survey of life stress. Project report submitted to the Department of Psychology, University of Allahabad.Google Scholar
Arent, R.P. (1984). Stress and your child. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Towards a unifying theory of behavior changes. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1988). Perceived self-efficacy in coping with cognitive stressors and opioid activation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 479–488.Google Scholar
Brantley, P.J., Waggoner, C.D., Jones, G.N., & Rappaport, N.B. (1987). A daily stress inventory: Development, reliability, and validity. Journal of BehavioralMedicine, 10, 61–74.Google Scholar
Cobb, S. (1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 38, 301–314.Google Scholar
Cohen, S., & Wills, T.A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 210–357.Google Scholar
Cooper, C.L. (1988). Research in stress, coping, and health: Theoretical and methodological issues. Psychological Medicine, 18, 15–20.Google Scholar
Davidson, K.S., & Sarason, S.B. (1961). Test anxiety and classroom observations. Child Development, 32, 199–210.Google Scholar
Dunnell, K., & Cartwright, A. (1972) Medicine takers, prescrihers, and hoarders. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Dusek, J.B. (1980). The development of test anxiety in children. In Sarason, I. G. (Ed.), Test anxiety: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 195–207). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Erikson, E.H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Fallon, B.J. (1997). The balance between paid work and home responsibilities: Personal problem or corporate concern? Australian Psychologist, 32(1), 1–9.Google Scholar
Frankenhaeuser, M., Wright, M.R.W., Collins, A., Wright, J.V., Sedvall, G., & Schwan, C.G. (1978). Sex differences in psychoneuroendocrine reactions to examination stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 40(4), 334–342.Google Scholar
Frankignoul, M. & Juchmes, J. (1978). Psychophysiological aspects of emotional stress: Use of an adjective list for university examinations. Acta Psychiatrica Belgica, 78(4), 646–657.Google Scholar
Goplerud, E.N. (1980). Social support and stress during the first year of graduate school. Professional Psychology, 11, 282–290.Google Scholar
House, J.S. (1981). Work, stress, and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Jones, W.R. (1993). Gender-specific differences in the perceived antecedents of academic stress. Psychological Reports, 72, 739–743.Google Scholar
Kennedy, S. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., & Glaser, R. (1988). Immunological consequences of acute and chronic stressors: Mediating role of interpersonal relationships. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 61, 77–85.Google Scholar
King, M., Stanley, G., &Burrows, G. (1987). Stress: Theory and practice. Sydney: Grune and Stratton.Google Scholar
Kuczen, B. (1982). Childhood stress. New York: Delacorte Press.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R.S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1978). Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping. European Journal of Personality, 1, 141–170.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, coping, and adaptation. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Lin, N., & Ensel, W.M. (1989). Life stress and health: Stressors and resources.American Social Review, 54, 382–399.Google Scholar
McFarlane, A.H., Bellissimo, A., Norman, G.R., & Lange, P. (1994).Adolescent depression in a school-based community sample: Preliminary findings on contributing social factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,23(6), 601–620.Google Scholar
McGuire, D.P., & Mitic, W. (1987). Perceived stress in adolescents: What normal teenagers worry about. Canada’s Mental Health, 35, 2–5.Google Scholar
Mechanic, D. (1962). Students under stress: A study of the social psychology of adaptation. New York: Free Pressof Glencoe.Google Scholar
Mechanic, D. (1978). Effects of psychological distress onperceptions of physical health and use of medical and psychiatric facilities. Journal of Human Stress, 4(4), 26–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNair, D.M., Lorr, M., & Droppleman, L.F. (1981). Profile of Mood States Manual. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.Google Scholar
Micheal, E.D. (1957). Stress adaptation through exercise. Research Quarterly, 28, 50–54.Google Scholar
Morgan, C.H., Owen, D.W., Miller, A., & Watts, M.L. (1986). Variations in stress responses as a function of cognitive and personality variables.Psychological Reports, 59, 575–583.Google Scholar
Murray, M., & Clifford, S. (1988). Anxiety and aspects of health behavior among adolescents inNorthern Ireland. Adolescence, 23(91), 661–666.Google Scholar
Ogden, J. (1997). Health psychology: A textbook. Buckingham: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Omizo, M.M., Omizo, S.A., & Suzuki, L.A. (1988). Children and stress: An exploratory study of stressors and symptoms. The School Counselor, 35(4), 267–274.Google Scholar
Pennebaker, J.W. (1982). The psychology of physical symptoms. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Pennebaker, J.W., & Watson, D. (1988). Self-reports and physiological measures in the workplace. In Hurrell, J.J, Murphy, L. R., Sauter, S. L., & Cooper, C.L. (Eds.), Occupational stress: Issues and developments in research (pp. 183–199). London: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Plante, T.G., & Rodin, J. (1990). Physical fitness and enhancing psychological health. Current Psychology: Research and Reviews, 9(1), 3–24.Google Scholar
Price, J.H. (1986). A model for explaining adolescent stress. Health Education, 16(3), 36–40.Google Scholar
Prohaska, T.R., Leventhal, E.A., Leventhal, H., & Keller, M.L. (1985). Health practices and illness cognition in young, middle aged, and elderly adults.Journal of Gerontology, 40, 569–578.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, M. (1980). Schedule for assessing self-controlbehaviors: Preliminary findings. Behavior Therapy, 11, 109–121.Google Scholar
Sarason, I.G. (1981) Test anxiety, stress, and social support. Journal of Personality, 49(1), 101–113 Google Scholar
Sarason, R.R., Shearin, E.N., Pierce, G.R., & Sarason, I.G. (1987).Interrelationships of social support measures: Theoretical and practical implications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 813–832.Google Scholar
Scheuch, K.,Pietruschka, W.D., Hentschel, E., Winiecki, P., & Gruber, G. (1988). Physiological and psychological response to a three-month mental strain period in students. Activa Nervosa Superior, 30(3), 169–173.Google Scholar
Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. Washington, DC: Hemisphere.Google Scholar
Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. New York: McGraw Hill Google Scholar
Solberg, V.S., & Villarreal, P. (1997). Examination of self-efficacy, social support, and stress as predictors of psychological and physical distress among Hispanic college students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 19(2), 182–201.Google Scholar
Spielberger, C.D. (1972) Anxiety: Current trends in theory and research, Vol.1. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Steptoe, A. (1991). The links between stress and illness. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 35(6), 633–644.Google Scholar
Taylor, S.E. (1990). Health psychology: the science and the field. American Psychologist, 45(1), 40–50.Google Scholar
Tolman, R., & Rose, S.D. (1985). Coping with stress: A multimodal approach. School Work, 30, 141–158.Google Scholar
Vassend, O. (1988). Examination stress, personality, and self-reported physical symptoms. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 29, 21–32.Google Scholar
Vassend, O., Halvorsen, R., & Norman, N. (1987). Hormonal and psychological effects of examination stress. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 28, 75–82.Google Scholar
Verma, S., & Gupta, J. (1990). Some aspects of high academic stress and symptoms. Journal of Person and Clinical Studies, 6(1), 7–12. Google Scholar
Walker, L.S., & Greene, J.W. (1987). Negative life events, psychosocial resources, and psychophysiological symptoms in adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 16(1), 29–36.Google Scholar
Watson, D., & Clark, C.A. (1984). Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversiveemotional states. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 465–490.Google Scholar
Watson, D., & Pennebaker, J.W. (1989) Health complaints, stress, and distress: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review,96(2), 255–266.Google Scholar
Wiebe, D.J., & McCallum, D.M. (1986) Health practices and hardiness as mediators in the stress-illness relationship. Health Psychology, 5, 425–438.Google Scholar
Wills, T.A. (1986) Stress and coping in early adolescence: Relationship to substance use in urban school samples. Health Psychology, 5, 503–529.Google Scholar
Wohlemuth, E., & Betz, N.E. (1991). Gender as a moderator of the relationships of stress and social support to physical health in college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38(3), 367–374.Google Scholar
Wortman, C.B. (1984). Social support and the cancer patient, Cancer, 15, 2339–2360 Google Scholar