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The Relationships between Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life in Korean University Students

Article information

Res Community Public Health Nurs. 2016;27(2):124-131
Publication date (electronic) : 2016 June 12
doi : https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2016.27.2.124
Nam Hyun Cha
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 2016 March 13; Revised 2016 May 12; Accepted 2016 May 16.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Students; Emotional stress; Social adjustment

General Characteristics of Subject (N=489)

Scores of Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life

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

Correlation among Academic Stress and Adjustment at University Life

Factors Influencing the Adjustment at University Life of Subjects

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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.

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