Foreign

In their daily lives, university students have to face a wide variety of demands, both academic and non-
academic, that could affect their well-being. Academic demands include adaptation to a new context,
overwork, insufficient time to do their academic tasks, preparation for and doing of exams, and the
pressure to perform (Beiter et al., 2015; Vizoso and Arias, 2016; Erschens et al., 2018; Webber et al.,
2019).

Stress can bring with it significant harm to the student’s academic performance (e.g., reduced ability to
pay attention or to memorize, less dedication to study, and more absences from class) (Chou et al.,
2011; Turner et al., 2015)

Self-efficacy is considered a powerful motivational, cognitive, and affective determinant of student

behavior, with significant influence on their involvement, effort, persistence, self-regulation, and
achievement (Honicke and Broadbent, 2016; Ritchie, 2016; Zumbrunn et al., 2019). These characteristics
make self-efficacy an important variable in controlling stress (Bandura et al., 2003; Sahin and Çetin,
2017; Lanin et al., 2019), and it is a protection factor against the impact of day-to-day stressors at
university (Freire et al., 2019; Schönfeld et al., 2019).

Self-efficacy would be a mediator between coping strategies and the stress response (Zimmer-Gembeck
and Skinner, 2016).

Coping is seen as a stabilizing factor that may support an individual in psychosocial adaptation during
stressful situations (Bamuhair et al., 2015).

Local

Ideal stress can be effective to improve learning ability; however, additional and prolonged stress can be
a cause of health problems according to a study conducted by Sohail (2015)

Unsupportive interaction with other students and teachers and financial issues also contribute to stress.
A recent study by Aribo, Daniel and Ekpenyong (2015), reported that students who present with higher
mental pressure and stress have higher incidence of low-back pain and increased activity of trapezius
muscle which associates to neck pain. With the greater consequences of stress to students,
psychological disorders such as suicide attempt and ideation can be alarming and may require
immediate attention.

Negative coping styles which involve alcohol intake and drug abuse further impair the effects of stress
according to the study of Ahmed et al. (2015)

Enhanced or impaired performance of the students will depend on how they will cope with stress
whether it is positive or negative means. Multiple coping mechanisms were being utilized by the
students to deal with the stressful circumstances. Self-affirmation may be effective in stress effects in
academic performance and improve problem-solving ability under stress (Creswell, Dutcher, Harris,
Klein & Levine, 2019)

As stated by Bin et al. (2017), dealing and adopting from stress is called coping mechanism. Positive
coping mechanism like religion active coping, positive re-interpretation, acceptance and planning may
reduce the effect of stress on the students.

Beiter, R., Nash, R., McCrady, M., Rhoades, D., Linscomb, M., Clarahan, M., et al. (2015). The prevalence
and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students. J. Affect. Disord. 173,
90–96. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054

Vizoso, C. M., and Arias, O. (2016). Estresores académicos percibidos por estudiantes universitarios y su
relación con el burnout y el rendimiento académicos [Academic stressors perceived by university
students and their relationship with academic burnout, efficacy and performance]. Anu. Psicol. 46, 90–
97. doi: 10.1016/j.anpsic.2016.07.006

Erschens, R., Herrmann-Werner, A., Keifenheim, K. E., Loda, T., Bugaj, T. J., Nikendei, C., et al. (2018).
Differential determination of perceived stress in medical students and high-school graduates due to
private and training-related stressors. PLoS One 13:e0191831. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191831

Webber, J., Skodda, S., Muth, T., Angerer, P., and Loerbroks, A. (2019). Stressors and resources related
to academic studies and improvements suggested by medical students: a qualitative study. BMC Med.
Educ. 19:312. doi: 10.1186/s12909-019-1747-z

Chou, P.-C., Chao, Y.-M. Y., Yang, H.-J., Yeh, G.-L., and Lee, T. S.-H. (2011). Relationships between stress,
coping and depressive symptoms among overseas university preparatory Chinese students: a cross-
sectional study. BMC Public Health 11:352. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-352

Turner, J., Bartlett, D., Andiappan, M., and Cabot, L. (2015). Students’ perceived stress and perception of
barriers to effective study: impact on academic performance in examinations. Br. Dent. J. 219, 453–458.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2015.850

Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., and Skinner, E. A. (2016). “The development of coping: Implications for
psychopathology and resilience,” in Developmental Psychology: Risk, Resilience, and Intervention, ed. D.
Cicchetti (New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons), 485–545.

Sohail, N. (2015). Stress and academic performance among medical students.Journal of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, 23(1), 67-71.
Ekpenyong, C. E., Daniel, N. E., &Aribo, E. O. (2015).Associations between academic stressors, reaction
to stress, coping strategies and musculoskeletal disorders among college students. Ethiopian Journal of
Health sciences, 23(2), 98-112.

Gomathi, K. G., Ahmed, S., &Sreedharan, J. (2015). Causes of stress and coping strategies adopted by
undergraduate health professions students in a university in the United Arab Emirates. Sultan Qaboos
University Medical Journal, 13(3), 437.

Creswell, J. D., Dutcher, J. M., Klein, W. M., Harris, P. R., & Levine, J. M. (2019). Self-affirmation improves
problem-solving under stress. PloS One, 8(5), e62593.

Binu, V. S., Mukhopadhyay, C., Ray, B., &Menezes, R. G. (2017). Psychological morbidity, sources of
stress and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students of Nepal. BMC Medical education,
7(1), 26.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326007594_A_Study_on_Stress_Level_and_Coping_Strategi
es_among_Undergraduate_Students

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00841/full