Measuring Stress Experienced by University Students

Background: University students often report feeling intense stress, high anxiety, depressive feelings, low self-esteem, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse. This study presents a new questionnaire measure of student stress consisting of 30 items to investigate the symptoms of stress and potentially protective factors. Method: A total of 100 Canadian university students (mean age 20.2 years, SD=2.5, 33 males, 67 females) participated in an internet survey. They all completed our 30 item questionnaire dealing with the perceived stress of studying and exams, and with symptoms such as nightmares, depression, feelings of “being better off dead,” low self-esteem, and with potentially protective factors such as the extent of positive attitude to professors and pride in or contentment with the social status as a university student. Results: High proportions of students reported feeling, at least at times, better off dead (52%). About a half of them felt that most professors do not seem to like them (56%) and many reported nightmares about exams (53%). Lower perceived levels of student stress were associated with more positive feelings towards the professors (r=-.37) and with more pride in being a university student and the contentment with the related social status (r=-.25). The Cronbach alpha coefficient of internal consistency of our questionnaire was .87, i.e., satisfactory. Discussion: The high prevalence of nightmares about exams, feeling of “being better off dead,” or of not being liked by the professors is worrisome. Positive relations towards the professors or pride in or contentment about being a university student function as statistically significant but only weak and hence insufficient protective factors. Conclusions: More than 50% of students reported nightmares about exams, feeling of “being better off dead,” or of not being liked by the professors. Further research is needed to evaluate correlates of student stress to other protective factors than those explored in the present study.