Gavin Stress Psychology Project Bruh Project
Gavin Stress Psychology Project Bruh Project
Gavin Stress Psychology Project Bruh Project
CLASS 12A
Topic: Stress
This is to certify that this research project entitled “To study the
causes and effects of stress among school students.” is the work done
by Gavin Anthony Mendoza , during the period 2022-2023,
Signature
INTRODUCTION
Stress
Strain
Strain is nervousness resulting from mental stress. It is the overt manifestation of stress.
It is different from a simple stress. A strain consists of at least two stressors, either pulling
or pushing an
individual in different directions. A single directional stress is usually less devastating to an
individual’s psychological well being than a strain.
Types of Stress
Chronic Stress
This is stress resulting from repeated exposure to situations that lead to the release of stress
hormones. This type of stress can cause wear and tear on your mind and body.
Eg: If your family is struggling financially or with an illness This can increase hypertension,
cause a heart attack or stroke.
Acute Stress
Acute stress is short-term stress, it is what you experience on a daily basis. Eg: getting into
an argument, taking a test
Can cause emotional distress, muscle tension, headache, back pain, or jaw ache, stomach
upset.
Stress Models
There are various models of stress that are continually studied by psychologists around
the world. The two most common models are the psychosomatic stress model and the
diathesis stress model.
Psychosomatic stress is the type of stress where the connection between mind and body
is strengthened. Specifically speaking, you
either develop a disease or further worsen it with your current mental state. A common
misconception is that a psychosomatic disorder is imaginary or “all in the head.” In reality,
psychosomatic symptoms are real and require treatment, just as any other illness. With
psychosomatic stress, your mind greatly affects how your body will
cope with the physical disease that you have. Stress will alter the time period utilized for the
development, worsening, or recovery from the general medical condition. For example,
when a person is angry, it prolongs the duration of high blood pressure.
The diathesis-stress model deals with the relationship between the possible causes of a
condition and the degree of your vulnerability to react to the situation. Basically, this model
shows that different people are vulnerable in different degrees and this affects their
likelihood to develop depression. These vulnerabilities are called diatheses. Your
diatheses can include biological and psychological factors. However, having these
vulnerabilities is not enough to trigger an illness.
Instead, you have to be faced with a stressful situation to prompt an illness. This model
follows that if you are very vulnerable to develop depression due to stress, then it will only
take a little environmental stress for you to become depressed. On the other hand, if you are
not so vulnerable, it will take much greater levels of environmental stress to bring you a
depressed state.
GAS Model-
When faced with stress, initially, your blood pressure soars, your pulse races, and you may
begin to sweat. These are part of a general pattern of reactions referred to as fight-or-flight
syndrome. When we
are exposed to chronic sources of stress, this reaction is only a first in a longer sequence of
responses activated by our efforts to adapt to a stressor. This sequence termed by Hans
Selye the general adaptation
syndrome (GAS), consists of three stages. The first is the alarm stage, in which the body
prepares itself for immediate action. If stress is prolonged, the resistance stage begins.
During the second stage,
arousal is lower, but our bodies continue to draw on resources at an above normal rate in
order to cope effectively with the stressor. If the stressful situation is resolved, the body
continues to repair itself until it returns to its pre-stress state. If the stressful situation is not
resolved, the body remains on high alert, eventually adapting to the higher stress level.
Stress hormones and blood pressure remain
elevated. This can lead to hypertension and heart problems as well as
irritability, frustration, and poor concentration. Continued exposure to the stressor or
additional stressors drains the body of resources and
leads to the third stage, exhaustion. During this stage, our capacity to
resist is depleted and our susceptibility to illness increases. In severe cases of prolonged
physical stress, the result can be death. These
changes will occur in the body regardless of whether the perceived stressor is considered
eustress (positive or pleasant) or distress
(negative or unpleasant). Ultimately, this means that we need to take active steps in
managing all of our stressors, as it can build up and potentially cause harm to our health
otherwise.
The human stress response involves many components, as Selye’s work portrayed. First,
the brain initiates the most immediate response signaling the adrenal glands to release
epinephrine and norepinephrine. Then, the hypothalamus and pituitary activate another part
of the adrenals, releasing cortisol. This is followed by the nervous
system initiating behavioral responses like alertness, focus, reduction of pain receptors and
the inhibition of reproductive behaviors and desires. The sympathetic nervous system then
kicks in to increase the heart rate, blood pressure and release fuel to help fight or get out of
danger as it redirects blood flow to the heart, muscles and brain, away from the
gastrointestinal tract and digestive processes. To
accommodate these demands there is a vast increase in energy
production and utilization of nutrients and fluids in the body. Once
the stressful situation has passed, the brain signals the responses to be
“turned off” and finally recovery and relaxation allow the body to reestablish balance in
all systems, replacing lost nutrients and eliminating waste products accumulated
during the process.
Types of Stressors
Internal
1. Your standards
Perfectionism is a major source of stress. Setting yourself up for failure by demanding
perfection. Setting unreasonable standards for
yourself and not being okay with “good enough.”
2. Expectations
When expectations are not met it can be a huge cause of stress as loss of hope. Expectations
may be set by others on you or vice versa.
3. Desires
Buddhist philosophy suggests that recurrent psychological craving and “clinging” disrupts
the mind’s equilibrium and gives rise to negative emotions such as anxiety, misery, fear,
anger or stress.
4. Personal goals
Being unable to achieve personal goals such as losing weight or getting a high grade can
generate a lot of stress and cause the tasks to become harder to achieve.
External
1. Relationship problems
Relationships are a very important part of our lives whether with a significant other, friend,
or family member. We hold them very dear to us and any problems create a lot of tension
and lead to stress.
Being exposed to the daily hassles of traffic can lead to higher chronic stress. One of the
stress triggers while driving during a traffic jam is impatience — having to wait for the
traffic to move and dealing with the mistakes of other motorists on the road.
3. Marriage or divorce
Your wedding might be one of the happiest days of your life, but it’s also one that’s
associated with a lot of stress. You might be worried about all the logistics or how all of the
details you’ve been planning
for months (or years) will come together. On the other hand, a divorce is extremely stressful
as it brings forth a lot of uncertainity and is a major life change.
4. Job stress
Some work-related stress is normal, whether it’s during a busy time of year or a transition at
work. A little bit of stress can even keep you
focused, energized, and ready to take on new challenges. However,
stress due to colleagues, demands and money can be very stressful.
5. Financial Problems
Some situations that might cause financial stress include losing your job or being retrenched,
long term unemployment, being unable to get full time work, inability to pay your bills or not
being able to deal with the increasing costs of living.
Effects of Stress
Physical
1. Fatigue
While the main symptoms of fatigue are a general feeling of weariness or being tired or
drowsy, stress-related fatigue is usually accompanied by other symptoms: Sore or aching
muscles, or feeling of muscle weakness. Headache, moodiness, irritability, or being easily
agitated.
2. Headache
Headaches are more likely to occur when you’re stressed. Stress is a common trigger of
tension-type headaches and migraine. It can also trigger other types of headaches or make
them worse. Stress is a particularly common headache trigger in children and young adults.
4.Obesity
Cortisol stimulates your fat and carbohydrate metabolism, creating a surge of energy in your
body. While this process is essential for survival situations, it also increases your appetite.
Additionally, elevated cortisol levels can cause cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods.
Psychological
1. Inability to concentrate
Stress, and excessive worry can take you away from the present moment, making it
harder to stay focused on something you’re doing. Lack of sleep or food due to stress can
also make you lose focus.
2. Poor judgement
Early research suggests that stress exposure influences basic neural circuits involved in
reward processing and learning, while also
biasing decisions towards habit and modulating our propensity to engage in risk-taking.
Studies have shown that anxiety and stress
disrupts the decision-making regions of the prefrontal cortex. It is essential to reduce
3. Nervousness
When you are unsure of the outcome of a situation it leads you to feel nervous and this
worry can be detrimental to your health and well being.
Behavioural
1. Talking too fast or too loud
Stress is also a common cause of racing thoughts and faster speech, both of which can make
communication more difficult. People who are anxious may feel like they can’t keep up
with their thoughts and may speak much faster as a result, which can cause stuttering or
slurring.
2. Yawning
When stress occurs too frequently, however, the body has a difficult time recovering.
Incomplete recovery can cause the body to remain in a state of semi stress response
readiness, which we call stress-
response hyperstimulation. A body that becomes chronically stressed can exhibit symptoms
of stress, such as excessive yawning.
Stress Management
1. Try to get regular exercise- Physical activity has a big impact on your brain and
body. Whether you enjoy Tai Chi or you want to begin jogging, exercise reduces
stress and improves many symptoms associated with mental illness. Exercise for
cardiovascular fitness three to four times a week- prolonged rhythmic exercise is the
best, such as walking, swimming, cycling or jogging.
2. Eat well balanced nutritious meals
A balanced diet can support a healthy immune system and the repair of damaged cells. It
provides the extra energy needed to cope with stressful events. Early research suggests that
certain foods like polyunsaturated fats including omega-3 fats and vegetables may help to
regulate cortisol levels.
3. Sleep enough
Getting more rest can significantly decrease cortisol levels and restore balance to the body’s
systems. In a preventative step, try to get between seven to nine hours of sleep a night to
avoid the rise in hormone levels altogether, and reduce existing feelings of stress and
anxiety.
Review of Literature
(χ2
The results indicated that examination and examination results were the highest causes of
stress in students, followed by
studying for exams, too much to do and the amount to learn, respectively. Results
showed that 77.6% and 10.4% of the
students fall into the moderate and serious stress categories,
respectively, and that there were significant differences between female and male
students in both academic and life stress, with female students more stressed than
males. Results also indicated a significant positive correlation between locus of
control and academic stress, suggesting that students with external beliefs
are more stressed than those with internal. A significant negative correlation between
self-esteem and both academic and life stress emerged, indicating that students with
high self-esteem are less stressed than are those with low.
4) Sheehy, R. and Horan, J. J. (2004) conducted a research on
Effects of Stress Inoculation Training for 1st Year Law Students. The aim of the
research was to study the impact of stress inoculation training on law students. The
effects of stress inoculation training (SIT) on the anxiety, stress, irrationality, and
academic performance of 1st-year law students were examined. A 2 x 3 repeated-
measures crossover design was used in which the middle assessment occasion marked
when control participants began receiving SIT. Compared with those in the control
phase, participants initially receiving SIT showed decrements on personal, emotional,
and general stress. Additional analyses indicated that all participants who received
SIT displayed lower levels of anxiety, stress, and irrationality over time. Finally, the
academic ranks of participants predicted to finish in the bottom 20% of their class on
the basis of LSAT scores reflected conspicuous and significant improvement. SIT has
promising applicability to the high levels of stress experienced by 1st-year law
students.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
AIM: To study the causes and effects of stress among school students.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION:
The aim of the experiment was to study the stress experienced by students; the cause and
effects. Two checklists were constructed - one indicating the potential stressors along with a
5point rating scale indicating their frequency of occurrence (very often, often, sometimes,
rarely, very rarely). The stressors dispositional/internal variables (personality attributes,
cognitive appraisal) and situational/external variables (life events, environmental pressures –
physical, social, cultural and academic stressors). The second checklist indicates the effects of
stress (strain) – physical, psychological and behavioural along with their frequency of
occurrence (on a 5-point rating scale). The experimenter kept all the necessary items ready.
The subjects were handed the questionnaire. Rapport was established with the subject and the
following instructions were given “the following questionnaire consists of 15 items each. The
items for the causes of stress are based on internal variables numbered Q.1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 15 and
external variables numbered Q.3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. The items for the effects of stress
are based on physical effects numbered Q. 5, 12, 16, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29; psychological effects
numbered Q.3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 30; and behavioural effects
numbered Q.1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 18, 21, 23, 24, You have to answer all the statement. There are
five possible modes of responses which are Very often, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Very
rarely. Read each statement and carefully mark your responses in the checkbox. Your
responses shall be confidential. There is no time limit to answer the questionnaire. If you have
understood the questionnaire you may begin to answer the questionnaire given to you”. The
experimenter then ensures that the subjects have followed the instructions. The experimenter
thanks the subject and collects the response sheet. The scores were tabulated using the scoring
key. The experimenter scores each item and calculates the total score.
TEST DESCRIPTION: This list is designed to measure the causes and effects of stress among
school students. The questionnaire consists of 15 items each. The items for the causes of
stress are based on internal variables- personality attributes (PA), cognitive appraisal (CA)-
numbered Q.3, 4, 8, 9, 11 and external variables- (life events (LE), environmental pressures
– physical (EpP), social (EpS), cultural (EpC) and academic stressors (EpAS)- numbered Q.3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. The items for the effects of stress are based on physical effects
(P) numbered Q.15, 16, 22, 23, 25, 30. psychological effects (Psy) numbered Q.17, 18, 19, 20.
and behavioural effects (B) numbered Q.21, 24, 26, 27 28, 29. For each statement there are
five possible mode of responses which are Very often, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Very rarely.
Each item consists of a five-point rating scale (likert scale).
SCORING KEY:
Very Often Often Sometimes Rarely Very Rarely
5 4 3 2 1
DATA ANALYSIS
1. PA – 965
3. CA – 0
4. L – 0
5. ES – 751
6. EC – 253
7. EA – 821
8. EP – 890
Total Scores of Table 2
1. PHY – 847
2) Cognitive Appraisal- CA
3) Life Events- L
1) Physical- Phy
2) Psychological- Psy
3) Behavioural- B
= 965 5
= 193
2. Cognitive Appraisals – 0
3. Life Events – 0
= 890
= 296.666667
Social – (172+181+170+131+97)
5
= 751
= 150.2
Academic – (203+99+175+195+149)
= 821
= 164.2
Cultural – (103+150)
= 253
= 126.5
QUESTIONNAIRE-2 - CAUSES OF STRESS
1. Behavioural – (200+168+176+73+137+194)
= 948 6
= 158
2. Psychological – (218+170+213+212+202)
= 1015
5
= 203
3. Physical – (151+146+171+125+127+127)
= 847
= 141.166667
• The aim of the research conducted was to study the causes and effects of stress
among school students.
• The topic of the research conducted is ‘Stress Among School Students.’ I have
chosen this particular topic because school students report feelings of stress on
a large scale especially during secondary school. This is due to the fact that
they have to make big decisions on their careers and sort out college
applications. The research conducted could potentially help in predicting the
causes of stress in the age group focused on in the research as well as the
effects of stress on students in this age group. In doing so, mechanisms of
coping with stress can be devised which can help students to effectively deal
with stress.
The data collected for this research was obtained with the use of a questionnaire consisting of
thirty- seven questions, aimed at understanding the causes and effects of stress experienced
by school students. All thirty questions were positive in nature. The scoring key used to
evaluate the responses to each question was as follows –
1- Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
• The questionnaire was based on two checklists – one indicating the potential
stressors; which included dispositional or internal variables like personality
attributes or cognitive appraisal, and situational or external variables like life
events, physical environmental pressure, social environmental pressure,
cultural environmental pressure and academic environmental pressure and the
other indicating the physical, psychological and behavioural effects of stress.
The questions under each checklist had five modes of answer- strongly
disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree.
• Under the first checklist, the total score for the domain of personality attributes
was 965. The total score for the domain of cognitive appraisal was 0. The total
score for the domain of life events was 0. The total score for the domain of
environmental social pressures was 751. The total score for the domain of
environmental cultural pressures was 253. The total score for the domain of
environmental academic pressures was 821. The total score for the domain of
environmental physical pressures was 890.
• Under the second checklist, the total score for the domain of physical effects
was 847. The total score for the domain of psychological effects was 1015. The
total score for the domain of behavioural effects was 948.
• The total scores for each domain were calculated by creating two tables, on for
each checklist. The first row contained abbreviations of the domains under
each checklist. The second row contained the number of the question from the
questionnaire that belonged to a particular domain. The domain abbreviations
were repeated in case more than one question identified with a particular
domain. The first column of each table was filled with numbers ranging from
one to fifty-six for each individual who answered the questionnaire. Then, each
individual received a score from one to five for each question that they
answered according to the scoring key. The final row of the table contained the
total score for a particular question, and thus, for a particular domain. If there
were multiple questions for a particular domain, the scores of these questions
were added to give the total score for that domain.
• Under the first checklist, the mean score for the domain of personality
attributes was 193. The mean score for the domain of cognitive appraisal was
0. The mean score for the domain of life events was 0. The mean score for the
domain of environmental physical pressures was 296.666667. The mean score
for the domain of environmental social pressures was 150.2. The mean score
for the domain of environmental academic pressures was 164.2. The mean
score for the domain of environmental cultural pressures was 126.5. Under the
second checklist, the mean score for the domain of
behavioural effects was 158. The mean score for the
domain of
• Psychological effects was 203 and the mean score for the domain of physical
effects was 141.166667. The graphical representation was done for the same.
CONCLUSION
From the data collected and analysed in this research we can suggest the likely cause of stress
among school students is the amount of work they have and the lack of time. We can also
suggest that the stress experienced by a school student is likely to have a psychological effect
rather than a behaviour or physical effect.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11874-stress Accessed on 22 July 2022 at 9:30
pm
3. https://www.who.int/news-room/questionsandanswers/item/stress#:~:text=Stress%20can
%20be%20defined%20as,to%20your%20overall%2 0 well%2Dbeing. Accessed on 23 July
2022 at 3 pm
2. Do you often find yourself wanting to keep everything in your life perfect?
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
3. Do you often feel stress due to lack of time management?
1. Strongly Disagree
2. Disagree
3. Neutral
4. Agree
5. Strongly Agree
10. Do you feel stressed out when there is a death of a close family/friend of yours?
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
11. Do you feel stressed out when you have a lot of work pending?
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
12. Do you feel stressed out when you talk to your friends?
1-Strongly agree
2-Agree
3-Neutral
4-Disagree
5-Strongly disagree
13. Do you feel stressed out when you are taking to the public which involves a lot of people?
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
14. Do you feel stressed out when you are lying to another person?
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
15. Migraines/headaches
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
17. Insomnia
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
19. Depression
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
23. Fatigue
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
24. Anxiety
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
25. Undereating/overeating
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
1-Strongly agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly disagree
32. Do you often face inability to focus on a task for long periods of time due to stress?
(1) Strongly Agree
(2) Disagree
(3) Neutral
(4) Agree
(5) Strongly Agree