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HOME > J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs > Volume 27(2); 2016 > Article
Original Article
The Relationships between Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life in Korean University Students
Nam Hyun Cha
Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing 2016;27(2):124-131.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2016.27.2.124
Published online: June 12, 2016

Department of Nursing, College of Natural Science, Andong National University, Andong, Korea

Corresponding author: Cha, Nam Hyun Department of Nursing, College of Natural Science, Andong National University, 1375 Gyeongsong-ro, Andong 760-749, Korea. Tel: +82-54-820-7314, Fax: +82-54-820-6730, E-mail: yeoreo@anu.ac.kr
• Received: March 13, 2016   • Revised: May 12, 2016   • Accepted: May 16, 2016

Copyright © 2016 Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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  • Purpose
    The purpose of this paper was to identify the correlations among academic stress and adjustment at university life in university students.
  • Methods
    A total of 489 subjects aged 17 and 36 were selected through convenient sampling. Data were collected with a self reported questionnaire from September 2 to November 30, 2015. Collected data were analyzed with SPSS/WIN.
  • Results
    There were statistical differences between academic stress and adjustment at university life. Academic stress were significantly different according to gender, grade, economic status, health status major department of study, drinking and smoking. Adjustment at university life were significantly different according to gender, economic status, health status. 25.4% of variance in adjustment at university life were explained by academic stress, major department of study, health status.
  • Conclusion
    The finding of this study may be useful in understanding the academic stress expression of university students and developing more specific programs on adjustment at university life.
Table 1.
General Characteristics of Subject (N=489)
Characteristics Variables n (%) or M±SD
Age (year) (Range: 17~36) 20.21±0.16
Gender Male 195 (39.8)
Female 294 (60.2)
Grade 1~2 grade 437 (89.3)
3~4 grade 52 (10.7)
Economic status High 74 (15.2)
Middle 354 (72.3)
Lower 61 (12.5)
Health status Good 263 (53.7)
Average 204 (41.8)
Bad 22 (4.5)
Religion Catholic 48 (9.7)
Buddhism 81 (16.6)
Protestantism 55 (11.3)
None 305 (62.4)
Major department of study Nursing course 203 (41.3)
Humanities, 139 (28.5)
social course
Natural course 94 (19.3)
Engineering course 53 (10.9)
Parent's working together Yes 341 (69.8)
No 148 (30.2)
Drinking Yes 247 (50.5)
No 242 (49.5)
Smoking Yes 62 (12.7)
No 427 (87.3)
Table 2.
Scores of Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life
Variables Range (score) Mean (score) SD
Academic stress 42~210 (1~5) 112.81 (2.70) 21.78
Adjustment at university life 27~135 (1~5) 90.40 (3.18) 10.45
Table 3.
Differences in Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life to General Characteristics of the Subjects (N=489)
Characteristics Subcategories Academic stress
Adjustment at university life
M±SD t or F (p) M±SD t or F (p)
Gender Male 107.44±24.19 −4.42 (<.001) 92.43±12.23 3.31 (<.001)
Female 116.40±19.27 88.99±8.99
Grade 1~2 grade 113.91±21.47 2.85 (.005) 90.10±10.37 −1.43 (.155)
3~4 grade 104.75±22.91 92.31±11.52
Economic status High 102.01±23.92 11.15 (<.001) 93.44±11.83b 3.36 (.036)
Middle 113.88±21.28 89.96±10.14a
Lower 118.96±18.83 89.45±11.12
Health status Good 108.59±1.52ab 10.75 (<.001) 92.09±10.85b 7.82 (<.001)
Average 117.35±18.14a 88.52±9.73a
Bad 121.00±16.44b 86.75±10.49
Religion Catholic 113.11±22.70 1.37 (.242) 91.32±10.59 1.48 (.207)
Buddhism 112.00±21.41 91.31±9.80
Protestantism 110.73±18.69 92.80±11.74
None 113.71±22.13 89.51±10.48
Major department ofstudy Nursing course 119.54±19.21ab 6.89 (<.001) 91.15±8.74 1.85 (.077)
Humanities, social course 112.24±22.75b 88.85±11.74
Natural course 112.24±22.76b 89.89±10.51
Natural course 112.24±22.76b 89.89 10.51
Engineering course 106.72±15.83a 87.80±10.71
Rank betweenbrothers First born 113.63±22.91 1.29 (.273) 90.35±9.70 1.15 (.335)
Middle born 109.95±23.37 89.97±11.59
Last born 112.62±19.94 90.58±11.12
Single 116.64±17.48 89.52±10.17
Parent's workingtogether Yes 112.01±21.70 −1.11 (.267) 91.00±10.69 1.61 (.109)
No 114.51±21.58 89.25±10.10
Drinking Yes 110.83±21.76 −2.07 (.039) 90.58±10.43 0.54 (.587)
No 115.03±21.65 90.05±10.59
Smoking Yes 106.70±24.89 −2.40 (.017) 92.61±13.17 1.49 (.142)
No 113.85±21.14 89.99±10.01

Scheffé test.

Table 4.
Correlation among Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life
Variables Academic stress Adjustment at university life
Academic stress 1
Adjustment at university life −.47 (<.001) 1
Table 5.
Factors Influencing the Adjustment at University Life of Subjects
Variables B SE β t p
(Constant) 123.42 4.32 28.59 <.001
Academic stress −0.23 0.02 −.48 −10.74 <.001
Grade 1.14 1.44 .03 0.79 .429
Health status −1.83 0.80 −.10 −2.29 .022
Economic status −0.44 0.92 −.02 −0.48 .631
Major department of study −0.98 0.22 −.20 −4.47 <.001
Drinking 0.76 0.90 .04 0.85 .396
Smoking −1.32 1.33 −.43 −0.99 .322
Adj. R=.25, F=22.01, p<.001
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    The Relationships between Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life in Korean University Students
    The Relationships between Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life in Korean University Students
    Characteristics Variables n (%) or M±SD
    Age (year) (Range: 17~36) 20.21±0.16
    Gender Male 195 (39.8)
    Female 294 (60.2)
    Grade 1~2 grade 437 (89.3)
    3~4 grade 52 (10.7)
    Economic status High 74 (15.2)
    Middle 354 (72.3)
    Lower 61 (12.5)
    Health status Good 263 (53.7)
    Average 204 (41.8)
    Bad 22 (4.5)
    Religion Catholic 48 (9.7)
    Buddhism 81 (16.6)
    Protestantism 55 (11.3)
    None 305 (62.4)
    Major department of study Nursing course 203 (41.3)
    Humanities, 139 (28.5)
    social course
    Natural course 94 (19.3)
    Engineering course 53 (10.9)
    Parent's working together Yes 341 (69.8)
    No 148 (30.2)
    Drinking Yes 247 (50.5)
    No 242 (49.5)
    Smoking Yes 62 (12.7)
    No 427 (87.3)
    Variables Range (score) Mean (score) SD
    Academic stress 42~210 (1~5) 112.81 (2.70) 21.78
    Adjustment at university life 27~135 (1~5) 90.40 (3.18) 10.45
    Characteristics Subcategories Academic stress
    Adjustment at university life
    M±SD t or F (p) M±SD t or F (p)
    Gender Male 107.44±24.19 −4.42 (<.001) 92.43±12.23 3.31 (<.001)
    Female 116.40±19.27 88.99±8.99
    Grade 1~2 grade 113.91±21.47 2.85 (.005) 90.10±10.37 −1.43 (.155)
    3~4 grade 104.75±22.91 92.31±11.52
    Economic status High 102.01±23.92 11.15 (<.001) 93.44±11.83b 3.36 (.036)
    Middle 113.88±21.28 89.96±10.14a
    Lower 118.96±18.83 89.45±11.12
    Health status Good 108.59±1.52ab 10.75 (<.001) 92.09±10.85b 7.82 (<.001)
    Average 117.35±18.14a 88.52±9.73a
    Bad 121.00±16.44b 86.75±10.49
    Religion Catholic 113.11±22.70 1.37 (.242) 91.32±10.59 1.48 (.207)
    Buddhism 112.00±21.41 91.31±9.80
    Protestantism 110.73±18.69 92.80±11.74
    None 113.71±22.13 89.51±10.48
    Major department ofstudy Nursing course 119.54±19.21ab 6.89 (<.001) 91.15±8.74 1.85 (.077)
    Humanities, social course 112.24±22.75b 88.85±11.74
    Natural course 112.24±22.76b 89.89±10.51
    Natural course 112.24±22.76b 89.89 10.51
    Engineering course 106.72±15.83a 87.80±10.71
    Rank betweenbrothers First born 113.63±22.91 1.29 (.273) 90.35±9.70 1.15 (.335)
    Middle born 109.95±23.37 89.97±11.59
    Last born 112.62±19.94 90.58±11.12
    Single 116.64±17.48 89.52±10.17
    Parent's workingtogether Yes 112.01±21.70 −1.11 (.267) 91.00±10.69 1.61 (.109)
    No 114.51±21.58 89.25±10.10
    Drinking Yes 110.83±21.76 −2.07 (.039) 90.58±10.43 0.54 (.587)
    No 115.03±21.65 90.05±10.59
    Smoking Yes 106.70±24.89 −2.40 (.017) 92.61±13.17 1.49 (.142)
    No 113.85±21.14 89.99±10.01
    Variables Academic stress Adjustment at university life
    Academic stress 1
    Adjustment at university life −.47 (<.001) 1
    Variables B SE β t p
    (Constant) 123.42 4.32 28.59 <.001
    Academic stress −0.23 0.02 −.48 −10.74 <.001
    Grade 1.14 1.44 .03 0.79 .429
    Health status −1.83 0.80 −.10 −2.29 .022
    Economic status −0.44 0.92 −.02 −0.48 .631
    Major department of study −0.98 0.22 −.20 −4.47 <.001
    Drinking 0.76 0.90 .04 0.85 .396
    Smoking −1.32 1.33 −.43 −0.99 .322
    Adj. R=.25, F=22.01, p<.001
    Table 1. General Characteristics of Subject (N=489)

    Table 2. Scores of Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life

    Table 3. Differences in Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life to General Characteristics of the Subjects (N=489)

    Scheffé test.

    Table 4. Correlation among Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life

    Table 5. Factors Influencing the Adjustment at University Life of Subjects


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