Academic stress, self-efficacy, social support, and health behaviours in female Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students

Abstract

This study examined academic stress in female Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students in terms of somatic symptoms and mood disturbance before, during, and after the midyear examination period and also examined the role of self-efficacy, number of social supports, social support satisfaction, and health behaviours in mediating the effects of stress on symptoms and mood disturbance. It was hypothesised that (a) student would report increased somatic symptoms and mood disturbance during the examination period and that (b) self-efficacy, social support (number and satisfaction), and health behaviours would account for a significant proportion of variance for somatic symptoms and mood disturbance before, during, and after the exam period. The participants were 51 VCE students from a large Catholic girls’secondary college in Melbourne. Four weeks before the exam period, the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, Reported Health Behaviours Checklist, Short Form Social Support Questionnaire, Symptoms Checklist, and Profile of Mood States were administered.The Symptoms Checklist and Profile of Mood States were administered again during the exam week and four weeks after the exam period. Statistical analyses showed that the VCE examination period was associated with significantly increased self-reports of somatic symptoms and mood disturbances that were strongly indicative of high levels of stress. Self-efficacy was found to have a weak role in mediating the stress response during the exam week. Social support did not account for any of the variation in academic stress. Health behaviours accounted for a small but significant proportion of the variance in stress after the exam period. It was concluded that there is a need to study other factors that may attenuate the academic stress response in adolescent secondary school students. The perceptual and cognitive appraisal of academic stressors is suggested as an area that may be worthy of examination.The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the impact that academic stress may have on adolescents’ health during this critical period of development.

The Structural Relationships among Academic Pressure, Independent Learning Ability, and Academic Self-Efficacy

“…Regarding H1, the academic pressure faced by Chinese English majors has a statistically significant negative impact on their academic self-efficacy: the greater the academic pressure faced by these students, the lower their academic self-efficacy. These results are consistent with Kouzma and Kennedy’s results ( 24 ), confirming that the rate of change of academic pressure has a significant negative impact on the rate of change of self-efficacy. Thus, knowing how to deal with academic pressure can restore students’ self-efficacy, which has significant implications for their personal development during their school years.…”

Homework, Stress, and Mood Disturbance in Senior High School Students

“…In a series of studies, Kouzma and Kennedy (2000) investigated academic scress in senior high school students in Victoria, Australia. Analysis showed that students reported high stress during three dilferent times across the final year of high school.…”

The Relationship Between Self-efficacy and Health-Promoting Lifestyle in Students

“…In the study of Sung in Korea and Mohammad Beigi in Iran, self-efficacy was not significantly associated with stress management sub-groups and physical activity in students [23,24]. The results of a study confirmed a significant relationship between selfefficacy and stress levels in students [25] and in another study, self-efficacy played a weak mediating role in response to stress during the students' exam week [26]. Schonfeld's study showed that the role of self-efficacy was not always beneficial in controlling stress and that higher levels of self-efficacy can sometimes lead to increased stress, psychological responses, and decreased performance [27].…”