Stress in College
Most students in US colleges are just plain stressed out, from everyday worries about grades and relationships to darker thoughts of suicide, according to a poll of undergraduates from coast to coast. The survey was conduced for the Associated Press and MTVU, a television network available at many colleges and universities.
Students’ Stress Problem
Four in 10, students say they endure stress often. Nearly one in five say they feel it all or most of the time. But most are bearing it. Nearly 60% in the survey say they enjoy life.
The majority cite classic stress symptoms including trouble concentrating, sleeping and finding motivation. Most say they have also been disturbed, worried, too tired to Work. "Everything is being piled on at once," said Chris Curran, a junior at the Albany College of Pharmacy (制药) in Albany, N.Y He said he has learned to cope better since starting school. "You just get really disturbed and anxious. Then you start procrastinating (拖延), and it all piles up." Many cite eating problems and say they have felt lonely, depressed, like they are failures. Substantial numbers are even concerned about spring break, chiefly not having enough money or being in good physical shape.
More than a quarter of the students sometimes think they should cut down on drinking or going out. A third say they sometimes want to use drugs or alcohol to relax. About 15% say they’re at least somewhat concerned about drinking too much on spring break One in five say they have felt too stressed to do schoolwork or be with friends. About the same number say things have been so bad in the past three months that they have seriously considered dropping out of school. Darker still, about one in six say they have friends who in the past year have discussed committing suicide, and about one in 10 say they have seriously considered it themselves. Friends have actually tried to end their lives in that time, one in 10 say. In this ocean of campus anxiety, 13% say they have been diagnosed with a mental health condition such as depression or an anxiety disorder.
Of that group, two-thirds say they always or usually follow their treatment, one-tenth say they have been unable to stick to it, and the rest are not on a plan. The perils (危险) of halting treatment were highlighted last month when police said the girlfriend of Steven Kazmierczak, who fatally shot five people and then himself at Northern Illinois University, told them he had stopped taking medication. Six in 10 in the survey say they are usually hopeful and enjoy life. Half even concede they feel understood by their families.
What Causes the Stress Problem
Even so, the survey shows plenty of sources of stress, led by the seven in 10 students who attribute it to school work and grades. Financial problems are close behind, while relationships and dating, family problems and extracurricular activities all are named by half as adding pressure.
College women have a more stressful existence than men, with 45% of females and 34% of males saying they face pressure often. The youngest students cite frequent stress most often. Whites report more stress than blacks and Hispanics. From schoolwork to dating, women are more possible than men to say they experience pressure from virtually every potential source of distress in the survey. Six in l0 women and just four in 10 men say family issues cause problems, though the differences between the es in most areas are slimmer. Besides balancing her approaching graduation with the 20-hour-per-week job that helps finance school, Jeanette Devereaux-Weber said she has a new pressure: beginning her post-college life. She has not decided what to do." It’ doesn’t feel like looking for a summer job anymore, it’s looking for a career, it’s things that will shape everything to come," she said. "Sometimes it feels like you have to make the right choice right away or you will be behind everyone else."
How to Solve the Stress Problem
The poll shows a spotty sense among students of how to find assistant6 handling pressure. Just over half say they are sure whom they would turn to for help. Only one in seven say they were very familiar with the counseling offered at their schools. Overall, 26% of students say they have considered talking to a counselor or getting other professional help. Just 15% say they have actually done so. Professional help, though, is not on a top students’ lists when they need help. Three-quarters say they would be most likely to turn to friends; nearly two-thirds cite their parents and half say they would talk to brothers or sisters. Only one in five say they would seek out school counselors.
Of the 9% who said they had considered suicide in the past year, only half said they had considered talking to a counselor or professional and four in 10 had actually received such help. While 11% said they had friends who had tried committing suicide in the past year, that doesn’t mean there have been that many attempts because many people often know each individual who has tried. According to the most recent figures from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prion, far less than one of every 100 people aged 18 to 24 tried to injure himself in 2006. However, the number is less than one of every 1000 people of that age in 2005.
How is the Survey Conducted
The survey was conducted by Edison Media Research from Feb. 28 to March 6 by having 2253 undergraduate students fill out confidential forms. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points. The students, aged 18-24, were handed the questionnaires at 40 randomly chosen four-year schools around the country. To protect privacy, the schools where the poll was conducted are not being identified and the students who responded were not asked for their names. Those mentioned in this story were not among those polled and did not necessarily attend schools involved in the survey.
MTVU’s sponsorship of the poll is related to its work on "Half of Us", which it runs with the Jed Foundation, a non-profit group that works to reduce suicide among young people: "Half of Us" is a program designed to raise awareness about emotional problems faced by college students. Compared to that in 2005, the number of students trying to injure themselves because of stress problem in 2006 has ______.