Effect of Examination Stress on the Blood Pressure of Secondary School Students in Oroke High School Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, South Western Nigeria

Background: Examination stress is caused by various stressors: the fear of inadequate preparation for the exam and fear of failing it, the need to pass very well in the exam to satisfy the parental and guardian expectation and the extra effort made to work harder, burning the midnight oil over the preparation for the examination. The aim of this study is to use the data of blood pressure to find out the effect of examination stress on the various Nigerian secondary school classes. Method: Quasi experimental research design was used for this study, A sample of (650) respondents was selected using stratified sampling technique. Digital sphygmomanometer was used to measure the actual blood pressure readings of the respondents. The readings were taken twice on each occasion with at least thirty minutes interval in sitting positions. The measurements were carried out three times during the study, two weeks after resumption for the second term of 2017/2018 academic year, two weeks before the second term examination and four weeks after the terminal examination. Results: The results show that the mean systolic blood pressure two weeks before the start of the examination is generally higher for all the classes than their values at the beginning of the term and their values at four weeks after the examination. Since blood pressure increases with stress . Conclusion: examination stress increases towards the start of examination and reduces after it, males and females differ in their experience of stress imposed by academic examination, and blood pressure increases with stress.