EVALUATING THE COPING STRATEGIES FOR STRESS AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA UNIVERSITY, IKEJI ARAKEJI, OSUN STATE
Abstract
Stress is a normal reaction to everyday pressures, but can become unhealthy when it upsets your day-to-day functioning. Stress involves changes affecting nearly every system of the body, influencing how people feel and behave. The study aimed to evaluate the level of stress and coping strategies among undergraduate students at Joseph Ayo Babalola University. A simple random sampling technique was utilized and sample size of 265 respondents was chosen using Taro Yamane formula. Data was coded using SPSS and were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequencies, means and percentages. Relationships between variables were tested using Chi-square at P< 0.05. The result of the study showed that majority (75%) experienced a low-level stress while one-fourth (25%) experienced a high-level stress. Less than half moderately identify many hours of studies (46.7%), unfair grading system (40.8%), too much academic workload (42.5%), meeting deadlines for academic assignment (46.7%), achieving my academic goals (42.1%), Pressure in daily studying (43.8%), financial difficulties (40.4%), adjusting to the campus environment (43.8%), lack of communication from the university (45.4%), not having enough support from others (43.8%) as the causative factors of stress among undergraduate students. Less than half (44.2%) and (44.6%) agreed that trying to do or think of something that will make them feel happier and allow themselves to relax and consult of course mate or other members of the school for help when under stress respectively, about half (47.9%) agreed that they engage in physical exercise/sports, more than one-third (37.1%) disagreed that they use drugs when under stress, more than half agreed (49.6%) that they listen to music to ease off stress. Hypothesis finding revealed that the age and level of study is not significantly associated with their level of stress at (x2 = 0.881, P = 0.830) and (x2 = 3.082, P = 0.544) respectively.
Keywords: Coping strategies, Stress and Undergraduate students,
Word count: 300 words
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