The Effect of Stress to the Academic Performance of the Senior High School Students in

Tagbina National High School

Tagbina National High School

Tagbina, Surigao del Sur

Lisbeth Wea R. Bastasa

Abegail A. Pendijito

Noreen Louise R.Ocampo

Leah Joy A. Andit

STEM 12
 CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

This chapter presents the general nature of the problem, its concept, theories that are

related to the study, specific questions, significance of the study, scope and limitations and

important key terms being used in the study.

1.1 Introduction

Stress is a part of day-to-day living. In our daily lives, we are often exposed to situations

that produce stress. The interpretation and reaction to events that caused stress are different for

different people. For example, speaking in public can be stressful for some people and relaxing

for others. However, if our stress level is too high, it can result in serious medical and social

problems.

The term “stress” can be defined in many ways. Generally, a layperson may define stress

in terms of pressure, tension, unpleasant external forces or an emotional response (Ogden, 2004,

P.234). In fact, layman definition of stress and the range of stress are very confusing and very

multidimensional. Stress is an abnormality in behaviour, psychology, and emotional outburst,

restraint in performing day-to-day routine work or physiological changes in human being. Stress

is a complex concept. Any event or circumstance that strains or exceeds an individual ability to

cope is called stress (Lahey, 2004, P.500). It can be routine stress at home, at school, and at work

might be fairly begun individually, but collectively they could create great strain. Different

things cause stress in different people. It is also a part of every student daily life. A student’s life

is subjected to different kinds of stressors, such as the pressure of academics with an obligation

of success, uncertain future and difficulties envisaged for integration in to the system. These
students face, social, emotional and physical and family problems which may affect their

learning ability and academic performance (Fish &Nies, 1996; Chewgrahan, Rogers & Yassin,

2003).

In a national scale, according to Sunstar (2018) the academic stress of the high school

students are divided into the most essential element, which is known as the learning process. The

performance of these constituent acts as an important role in setting academic achievements

which are associated to what people value in experiencing stress since academic works or

activities are inevitable in the school setting. Even those who are rich, physically beautiful or

happy may also experience this kind of stress. Stress usually happen when there are too many

homeworks and activities to do also when there is an exam or quizzes. Stress can affect an

emotional, physical and mental health especially our behaviour. In the field of education, the

most common sources of stress that may read to fear and anxiety to students.

Due to fast physical changes and mental development at this stage, students may

experience incompatibility of their mental development with their physical changes or with the

social environment and then suffer from problems arising from inadequate adaptations. These

problems may further cause psychological troubles and even induce deviant behaviours.

Adolescence is a dangerous period of time where young people experience self-organization and

role confusion. For them, stress mainly comes from academic tests, interpersonal relations,

relationship problems, life changes, and career exploration. Such stress may usually cause

psychological, physical and behavioural problems. According to Lazarus & Folkman (1984),

stress is a mental or physical phenomenon formed through one’s cognitive appraisal of the

stimulation and is a result of one’s interaction with the environment. The existence of stress

depends on the existence of the stressor. Feng (1992) and Volpe (2000) defined stressor as
anything that challenges any individual’s adaptability or stimulates an individual’s body or

mentality. Stress can be caused by environmental factors, psychological factors, biological

factors, and social factors. It can be negative or positive to an individual, depending on the

strength and persistence of the stress, the individual’s personality, cognitive appraisal of the

stress and social support.

There are numerous emotional and physical disorders that have been linked to stress

including depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, immune system disturbances

that increase susceptibility to infections, a host of viral linked disorders ranging from the

common cold to herpes to certain cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid

arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In addition, stress can have direct effects on the skin (rashes,

hives, atopic dermatitis), the gastrointestinal system (GERD, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel

syndrome, ulcerative colitis) and can contribute to insomnia and degenerative neurological

disorders like Parkinson’s disease. In fact, it is hard to think of any disease in which stress cannot

play an aggravating role or any part of the body that is not affected. This list will undoubtedly

grow as the extensive ramifications of stress are increasingly being appreciated. Accumulate

stress causes frustration; depression and anxiety, and can lead to attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder, substance abuse, antisocial behaviours and even violence. Stress has become an

important topic in academic circle as well as in our society.

In a global scale, According to Agolla (2009) Stress has become an important topic in

academic circles. Many scholars in the field of behavioral science have carried out extensive

research on stress and its outcomes and concluded that the topic needed more attention.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

 This study aimed to determine the sources of stress and its effect to the selected senior

high school students in Tagbina National High School in School Year 2020-2021.

Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following questions:

1. What is the stress level perceived of the Senior High School students of Tagbina National

High School in the scale of 1-10?

2. How well is their academic performance based on their average grade?

3. What is the relationship between the level of perceived stress of students and their

academic performance?

1.3 Significance of the Study

This study is designed for the rightful individuals listed below to help them determine the

sources of stress and its effect to the selected senior high school students in Tagbina National

High School in School Year 2020-2021.

STUDENTS

Provide awareness in order to be knowledgeable at which level of stress they are in and to

know the kinds of stress that they are facing.

TEACHER

Build ideas on how to cope with their students and to be aware with it that may result to

give them ideas and a push for them to try in solving such issue.

PARENTS

Will be aware that the pressure they put to their children will lead to stress.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS
 They may grasp another problem out of this study and find more significant results and

findings in the future.

1.5 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study covered the determining of the relationship between the level of perceived

stress of students and their academic performance. The participants of the study were the

randomly selected senior high school students of Tagbina National High School in school year

2020-2021 only.
 REFERRENCES

Agolla, J.E. (2009). Occupational Stress among Police Officers. The case of Botswana Police
service, Res. J. Bus. Manage. 2 (1): 25-35.

Agolla, J. E. and H. Ongori (2009). “An Assessment of Academic Stress among Undergraduate
Students: The Case of University of Botswana”, Educational Research and Review, 4(2):
63-70.

Denise Pfeiffer, Academic And Environmental Stress Among Undergraduate And Graduate

College Students: A Literature Review,The Graduate School University Of Wisconsin-Stout

December, 2001

Joseph E. Agolla and Henry Ongori, An assessment of academic stress among undergraduate

students: The case of University of Botswana, Educational Research and Review Vol. 4 (2), pp.

063-070, February 2009 Available online at ISSN 1990-3839 © 2009 Academic Journals

Ogden, J. (2004) Health Psychology. (3rd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.

Elizabeth Scott, M.S. (2009). Stress in College. Common Causes of Stress in College, Lambert

Academic Publishing.

Everley, G, Jr., Lating, J. A. (2002). Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress

Response, 2nd Ed. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

A Singh, S. Singh, Stress and adjustment among professional and non-professional students,

Industrial Psychiatry journal, 2008.

SunStar Philippines. (2017, October 31). Too much work, too little time. Retrieved from
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/402552?
fbclid=IwAR3bvhqqOsFk_y0Vso6vuGUgOPA2aSDF3aTx0HL9UcuCL6yIjhbKGoVeTNQ
Conceptual Framework/Theoretical Framework

Since stress is one of the most interesting, broad and mysterious subjects, its study is not

only limited to what happens to the body during a stressful situation, but also to what occurs in

the psyche of an individual.

Proposed independently by psychologist William James and physiologist Carl Lange,

the James-Lange theory of emotion suggested that emotions occur as a result of physiological

reactions to events. In other words, this theory proposes that people have a physiological

response to environmental stimuli and that their interpretation of that physical response then

results in an emotional experience. Sincero (2010) cited that James & Lange (1884) theory of

stress is called Theory of Emotion have separately proposed their respective theories on the

correlation of stress and emotion, but they had a unified idea on this relationship - emotions do

not immediately succeed the perception of the stressor or the stressful event; they become

present after the body’s response to the stress. For instance, when you see a growling dog, your

heart starts to race, your breath begins to go faster, and then your eyes become wide open.

According to James and Lange, the feeling of fear or any other emotion only begins after you

experience these bodily changes. This means that the emotional behavior is not possible to occur

unless it is connected to one’s brain.

In the late 1920s, Walter Cannon and Philip Bard proposed their own theory in refutation
of the James-Lange Theory of Emotion. Sincero cited another theory of stress made discovered
by Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion, emotions and bodily changes do not share a cause-and-
effect relationship. Rather, they occur simultaneously, following a stimulating event. Cannon and
Bard The Emergency Theory states that emotion in response to stress can actually occur even
when the bodily changes are not present. Cannon said that the visceral or internal physiologic
response of one’s body is more slowly recognized by the brain as compared with its function to
release emotional response that a lower brain stem structure called the thalamus is important in
the production of emotional responses. According to Bard, the emotional response is released
first, and then sent as signals by the thalamus to the brain cortex for the interpretation alongside
with the sending of signals to the sympathetic nervous system or SNS to begin the physiologic
response to stress. Therefore, this theory argues that emotional response to stress is not a product
of the physiologic response; rather, they occur simultaneously.

Cognitive theories of emotion began to emerge during the 1960s, as part of what is often
referred to as the "cognitive revolution" in psychology. One of the earliest cognitive theories of
emotion was one proposed by Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer, known as the two-factor
theory of emotion. Sincero aso cited the Schachter-Singer Theory, that the appropriate
identification of the emotion requires both cognitive activity and emotional arousal in order to
experience an emotion, attribution or the process wherein the brain can identify the stress
stimulus producing an emotion. And that we become aware of the reason behind the emotional
response, and when we the reason is not obvious, we start to look for environmental clues for the
proper interpretation of the emotion to occur.

Based from the foregoing discussion, the researcher was able to come up with the

Level of
Academic
Percieved
Perfomances
Stress

conceptual framework.
 Figure. 1. The relationship of the level of perceived stress and the academic

performances.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-james-lange-theory-of-emotion-
2795305#:~:text=1%EF%BB%BF,of%20physiological%20reactions%20to%20events.

https://explorable.com/cannon-bard-theory-of-emotion

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-two-factor-theory-of-emotion-2795718

Sarah Mae Sincero (Oct 19, 2012). Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion. Retrieved Dec 22,
2018 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/cannon-bard-theory-of-
emotion
Sarah Mae Sincero (Nov 26, 2012). James-Lange Theory of Emotion. Retrieved Dec
20, 2018 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/james-lange-theory-of-
emotion
Sarah Mae Sincero (Aug 25, 2012). Psychological Theories of Stress. Retrieved Dec
22, 2018 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/psychological-theories-of-
stress
Sarah Mae Sincero (Aug 11, 2012). Schachter-Singer Theory of Emotion. Retrieved
Dec 22, 2018 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/schachter-singer-
theory-of-emotion
 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter provides the related studies that will support this current study. The related

literature was borrowed from authors conducting similar studies on the common mental issues

among students, effects, and relationship of mental issues between academic performance.

2.1 International Literature

Stream wise difference in stress does exist in student Reddy et al. (2018). It is important

to deal with stress at personal, social and institutional level. Remedies such as feedback, yoga,

life skills training, mindfulness, meditation and psychotherapy have been found useful to deal

with stress. Identifying the main reason for stress is the key to deal with it. Professionals can

develop tailor made strategies to deal with stress. The integrated well being of the students is

important not only for the individual but for the institute as well.

Stress can be addressed by ensuring that the students give utmost importance to their

welfare Dimitrov (2017). Food, exercise, work, recreation are some of the areas to focus on. He

also concluded that the education system is more to do with the academic qualifications and does

not contribute enough to the holistic development of students. Students are usually conditioned

in a way that makes them fearful to take up upcoming challenges as the focus is only the

academics and not the development of a go getter mentally. There are not many choices for the

medium of education. English being the only option available can pose as a hindrance for the

students from rural backgrounds. There are not many courses available that are employment

centric. Fresh graduates need more communication skills development for better placements.

Subramani and Kadhiravan (2017) revealed the link between academic stress and mental

health among students. He endorsed that academic stress and mental health are correlated and
that students are cramped with the academic structure. Parents and schools pressurize the

students way too much for the higher grades that disheartens the students, further to add on there

is not enough support from the parents and school in terms of guidance. The students are

mentally healthy when they perform constructively in the academic forums. They also

propounded that students from private schools are more pressurized as compared to students

from government schools due to the excess of homework and other academic related

assignments. Significant difference in mental health of students from private and government

schools was found. He asserted that students from private schools have a different nurturing and

vast exposure as compared to government school students who belong to poor socio economic

background and lack of exposure. This is one of the reasons for the escalation of stress.

The use of various methods to curb stress Sharma et al. (2016). Doing one physical

exercise on a daily basis can address the concern of stress. One can also adapt to various time

management tools and get involved with leisure activities which can benefit students. Also, it

was suggested that colleges should have a conducive ambience to curtail the stress. Change in

the style of delivery from teachers end and providing mentors can bring fresh air to the teaching

style.

Prabu (2015) researched the higher secondary students and implied that male students are

more stressed than the female students. Urban student’s academic stress is greater than rural

students. Government school student’s stress is lower than private school student’s stress.

Students from Science stream are more stressed than the students from Arts.

According to the study of Deb et al. (2014) 400 male students from five private

secondary schools in Kolkata who were studying in grades 10 and 12. 35 percent students were

found to have high academic stress and 37 percent were found to have high anxiety levels.
Students with marginal grades were said to have higher levels of stress as compared to students

with better grades. Also, students involved with extracurricular activities were noted to be more

stressed as related to those students who were not involved with it. Kaur (2014) acknowledged

that mental health of teenagers gets affected due to academic stress. Girls with academic stress

were found to have poor mental health as compared to the boys. This was based on the study that

parents at times put pressure and strain on students that leads to deteriorated mental health.

2.2 Local Literature

All students, regardless of their academic classification, pointed out that academics,

workload due to subjects, and time management were their main stressors Dy et. al., (2015).

They all reacted to stress with affective stress responses. These patterns can be monitored to

maintain the psychological and physical well-being of adolescent students. This indicates that

stress can affect the academic performances of students despite how heavy or light a workload is.

This is proven by the previous study conducted among filipino students.

In the study of Mazo (2015) the causes, levels of stress, and coping mechanisms vary.

The study of Information Technology is basically a rigorous one as it is designed to prepare

students for the actual demands in the world of work, the IT industry. The study sought to

determine the causes of stress, the effects of stress, and the stress coping mechanisms of

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology students in the Leyte Normal University,

Tacloban City. Thesis writing/research and school requirements/projects were the most common

causes of stress. Sleepless nights and irritable/moody feelings were the common effects of stress.

There was disparity in the causes and effects of stress between the male and female respondents.

There was an observed disparity between the male and female responses.
 There are ways in which men and women tend to handle stress differently. Women often

use emotion-focused coping stated by Mirgain (2020). They change their emotional reactions to

stress by using what psychologists call tending and befriending. Men tend to turn to problem-

focused coping. They are more likely to go into 'fight or flight' mode and take action, or try to

solve a coping mechanism that can sometimes cause friction between the genders. When a

woman shares her stress, she's not necessarily looking for a solution, she's looking to engage

with those around her. The problem is that sometimes a male friend or partner may want to offer

ways of solving the cause of the stress, which can leave the woman feeling like she's not being

heard or her experiences valued.

Experts find student life particularly overwhelming. Not all stressors affect everybody in

the same way. One individual may remain very stable in a specific situation, while another

individual may exhibit more signs of tension. The distinction between the two individuals may

be that the first individual feels in charge and sees the situation as a struggle and is thus

committed to solving it. The second individual does not feel in charge of, threatened by, and only

needs to escape dealing with the situation. Causes of stress are called stressors. It is an agent or

condition capable of producing stress or something that initiates a stress response; it can be

people, objects, places or events. These are outside forces that place unusual demands on a

person’s body or mind. Student life exposes people to many stressors. Day-to-day problems,

such as school works, taking rest, or feeling rushed, may also be stressful.

Reference:
Deb, Sibnath, Esben,S., and Jiandong,S. (2014). Academic-related stress among private

secondary school students in India, Asian Education and Development Studies, 3(2), 118- 134.

Dimitrov.G (2017). A study on the impact of Academic Stress among college students in India,

Ideal Research. 2(4)

Dy, M., Espiritu-Santo, K., Ferido, M., & Sanchez, R. (2015). Stressors and stress responses of

Filipino college students. Asia life sciences, 24(2), 737-759.

Mazo, G. N. (2015). Causes, effects of stress, and the coping mechanism of the Bachelor of

Science in Information Technology students in a Philippine University. Journal of Education

and Learning, 9(1), 71-78.

Mirgain, S. (2020). Stress and Gender: Common Triggers and How to Cope. Interview Article.

Prabu Suresh P (2015). A study on academic stress among higher secondary stress, International

Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 4(10), 63-68

Reddy,K.J., Menon. K., Anjanathattil (2018). Academic Stress and its Sources among University

Students, Biomed Pharmacol Journal,11(1), 531-537

Sharma,B. Kumar,A. and Sarin,J. (2016). Academic Stress, Anxiety, Remedial Measures

Adopted and Its Satisfaction among Medical Student, A Systematic Review, International

Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 6(7), 368-376

Subramani, C. and Kadhiravan, S. (2017). Academic Stress and Mental Health among High

School Students, Indian Journal of Applied Research, 7(5)

Wright, J., Duchesne, C., Sabourin, S., Bissonnette, F., Benoit, J., & Girard, Y. (1991).

Psychosocial distress and infertility: men and women respond differently. Fertility and sterility,

55(1), 100-108.

CHAPTER 3
 RESEARCH METHODS

This chapter presents the methodology of the study which includes the research design,
respondents, setting, research instrument, data gathering procedure and data analysis to be used
in the course of this study.

3.1 Research Design

This study used the descriptive and correlational research method design. It is both
descriptive and correlational for Descriptive research is a kind of research designed to give
information, textual information about the topic, variables and the rest. And Correlational in a
way for it is used to discover relationships among different variables and to allow the prediction
of future events from present knowledge which is the Stress and Academic Performance as the
variables and its result will be the prediction of the aftereffect it gives to the student or
respondents that predicts his or her future events. Primarily, the researcher aim to determine if
there is a significant relationship between the stress and academic performance of Senior High
School students. The data were collected from of Senior High School students in Tagbina
National High School through researcher-made questionnaire.

Particularly, it is the intention of researcher to determine the effect of stress to the

academic performance of the Senior High School Students in Tagbina National High School.

3.2 Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study were the every 4th of the Senior High School students in

Tagbina National High School population who are enrolees of this school year 2020-2021. The

researcher uses the systematic sampling technique in selecting the respondents of the study.

3.2 Setting of the Study

 The setting of the study focused solely on Tagbina National High School, located at

Purok 3, San Jose, Tagbina, Surigao del Sur. Specifically, the study happened in the Senior High

School Buildings.

3.4 Research Instruments

For efficient and reliable data collection, questionnaires were used to convene the

required data for the study. The researcher utilized two adopted and adapted questionnaires for

the survey. A 2-page structured, combined questionnaire was developed by the researcher as a

mode of data collection. The questionnaire consists of two sections. In section A, the

respondents will be asked to furnish demographic information of to which Strand they belong

in Senior High School and also their General academic average. Furthermore, the questions

deciphered in Section B were intended to measure the effect of stress to the academic

performance of the Senior High School students in Tagbina National High School.
3.5 Data Gathering Procedure

The following events will be used by the researcher in order to collect and gather data
needed for the study:

1.) Seeking Permission to Conduct the Study. The letter of permission will be sought for an
approval from the school principal.

2.) Administration and Retrieval of the Questionnaires. On the scheduled date the researcher
will prepare/organize the questionnaires that she will use. Then she will randomly ask 20
students from different strands to answer the questionnaires. Before the respondents will answer
the questionnaires the researcher will explain the directions clearly and elaborate those terms
that need to be clarified to ensure that the needed data would be gathered. After the
questionnaires had been complied the researcher will collect them to ensure one hundred
percent retrieval.

3.) Checking, Collating and Processing of Data. Each questionnaire will be checked; the
response and rating will be collated and subjected with the appropriate statistical tools to obtain
the result of the study. The results will be tabulated in excel and subjected for statistical
treatment. The tabulated data will be analyzed to answer the problems raised in the first chapter
of the study.

3.6 Data Analysis

This sector designates how the data will be analyzed and reported; it should specify the

qualitative and/or quantitative methods that will be used in analyzing the data gathered for the

research.

After Data Collection, the researchers will assess the survey questions on the effect of

stress to the academic performance of the Senior High School Students in Tagbina National

High School by cross tabulating and filtering the results based on the research questions. With

the decided sample of 100, the researchers will be using the Statistical Tools such as;

Mean to identify the perceived stress level of the respondents towards their academic

performance by using the mean scores of the respondents’ answers and use to dignify

accordingly the average mean score of the independent and dependent variables. Pearson-r
coefficient of correlation to measure the correlation between the perceived stress level and

academic performance by analyzing the degree or extent to which the two variables fluctuate

with reference to each other. Tables to visually show the contrasts and comparisons among the

results of the surveys. After assessing the results, the researchers will divide the tasks for each

member to validate the data for its content.

When all the data are validated and have met the criteria of the study, the research will

begin by crunching down the numbers of the collected data, drawing possible conclusions that

are selected based on the appropriate scheme and describe them thoroughly in relation to the

research questions of the study. Since the Stress indicator questionnaire, and Perceived stress

scale are adapted, which is used in the context of the study, it is valid and proper. The results

will be referencing and compared to the statistical results of related studies to have a clear and

strong foundation for the conclusion.