The Role of Perceived Social Support on Academic Stress

Abstract

Academic stress has many negative effects on the students, and support from different levels can prevent this. This cross-sectional survey study among 322 students of class 8 and 10 from 3 public schools in Pokhara, Nepal was conducted to identify the role of perceived social support (PSS) from different levels (family, friends, and others) on academic-stress of students. The schools and participants were selected through a multistage cluster sampling technique. To collect the data self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the participants in their respective classrooms by one of the researchers. The data were analyzed in SPSS 20 with descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-square test and odds ratio at 95% confidence interval) at <0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that 34.4% of students had moderate to high levels of academic stress. Among different socio-demographic and background variables, factors such as age of the adolescents, mother's education level, socioeconomic status of the family, parental marital-status with whom adolescents are staying, home environment, night sleep, abuse at home, the problem has not listened, and feeling of discrimination were significantly associated with academic stress. The study concluded that perceived social support from the family has a greater preventive role along with other background factors. Hence, combined efforts of family and school are essential, where the family plays the most important role. The study findings have important implications for parents, family, school teachers, health personnel, counselors, and others in preventing academic stress and achieving mental wellbeing for adolescent students.

Social support: mediating the emotional intelligence-academic stress link

“…Individuals with a higher level of emotional intelligence may be better able to seek social support from peers or teachers, enabling them to leverage stressful events. Consequently, social support can mediate between emotional intelligence and academic stress ( Kong et al, 2012 ; Banstola et al, 2020 ). However, no studies examine the mediating influence of social support on the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress, primarily due to online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Tears of Hope: The Plight of Working Students Under TVL-Late Afternoon Program

“…A study by Maqbool et al (2021) affirmed that social support, including emotional, informational, and instrumental support, was positively associated with academic performance among working students. Similarly, a study by Banstola et al (2020) stressed that perceived social support from family and friends positively predicted academic achievement and helped working students cope with stress. The Social Support Theory, as discussed by Wethington and Kessler (1986) posits that social support is essential for individuals to cope with stressful events and that the availability of social support can influence how individuals perceive and manage stressful situations.…”

Hubungan Resiliensi dan Perceived Social Support dengan Stres Akademik Saat Pembelajaran Daring pada Mahasiswa

“…Persepsi bahwa dukungan sosial tersedia atau telah diberikan yang berupa komunikasi verbal atau non-verbal yang dapat meningkatkan rasa kompetensi, coping, belonging, harga diri individu, dan memberikan kepercayaan kepada individu bahwa mereka dipedulikan adalah perceived social support (Lim & Kartasasmita, 2019). Perceived social support berkaitan secara signifikan dengan stres akademik siswa (Banstola et al, 2020). Semakin tinggi perceived social support dari keluarga yang dirasakan siswa, semakin tidak terlalu rentan siswa tersebut terhadap stres akademik dan begitu pula sebaliknya, semakin rendah tingkat perceived social support yang dirasakan siswa, maka mereka rentan mengalami stres akademik (Banstola et al, 2020).…”

“…Perceived social support berkaitan secara signifikan dengan stres akademik siswa (Banstola et al, 2020). Semakin tinggi perceived social support dari keluarga yang dirasakan siswa, semakin tidak terlalu rentan siswa tersebut terhadap stres akademik dan begitu pula sebaliknya, semakin rendah tingkat perceived social support yang dirasakan siswa, maka mereka rentan mengalami stres akademik (Banstola et al, 2020). Procentese et al (2020) menemukan bahwa rasa memiliki dan rasa kebersamaan mahasiswa terhadap komunitas akademiknya dapat berperan sebagai faktor pelindung terhadap stres akademik.…”

“…Hasil analisis hipotesis ketiga tidak sejalan dengan penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Banstola et al (2020) yang juga menggunakan alat ukur berdasarkan teori dari Zimet et al (1988). Banstola et al (2020) menemukan bahwa semakin tinggi perceived social support yang dirasakan siswa, maka semakin tidak terlalu rentan siswa tersebut terhadap stres akademik. Hal tersebut dapat terjadi karena beberapa faktor, salah satunya adalah faktor ekonomi keluarga (Glozah, 2013).…”