Scribd
Upload
11K views

Review of Related Literature: Coping Mechanisms

1) Academic stress among university students can be caused by perceptions of limited time to complete assignments and absorb course material, as well as challenges that may impact health and academics if not managed. 2) Studies have identified coping strategies students use for academic stress, including physical activity, leisure activities, maladaptive behaviors, and spiritual practices. Problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping are also used. 3) The transactional model of stress and coping views stress as coming from interactions between individuals and their environments. Coping includes cognitive and behavioral responses to deal with stressors beyond one's resources. An individual's assessment of a stressor is key to their coping response.

Uploaded by

Rue Madeline
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
11K views

Review of Related Literature: Coping Mechanisms

1) Academic stress among university students can be caused by perceptions of limited time to complete assignments and absorb course material, as well as challenges that may impact health and academics if not managed. 2) Studies have identified coping strategies students use for academic stress, including physical activity, leisure activities, maladaptive behaviors, and spiritual practices. Problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping are also used. 3) The transactional model of stress and coping views stress as coming from interactions between individuals and their environments. Coping includes cognitive and behavioral responses to deal with stressors beyond one's resources. An individual's assessment of a stressor is key to their coping response.

Uploaded by

Rue Madeline
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Review of Related Literature

Academic Stress in Online Education

There are many different causes of stress among individuals involving university

students. Academic stress is part of being a student and can influence the coping schemes of

students with regards to the needs and demands of academic life (Essilfie and Kwaah, 2017).

According to Februanti, Galugu, Kadir, Pajarianto, and Sari (2020), academic stress usually

stems from how students perceive the allotted time given to them to absorb and master the

information in the records provided by their teachers. Citing Pariat, Rynjah, Joplin and Kharjana

(2014), Dhanapal and Ramachandiran (2018) articulate that several challenges encountered

regularly by college students have the likelihood to increase their stress levels that can affect

their health and obstruct their academic functioning if not managed. It may also have an effect on

the physical, emotional, and behavioral aspects of the students (Februanti, Galugu, Kadir,

Pajarianto, and Sari, 2020). In the study of Eysenbach, Fagherazzi, and Torous (2020), results

showed that majority of the participants had a hard time concentrating on school tasks due to

several sources of interference and the transition from physical classes to online learning which

raised their concern on their academic performance. In addition, more than half of the

respondents exhibited their concerns on the financial stability of their families, additional

academic workloads, and the increase in difficulty of the assignments.

Coping Mechanisms

In the study of Kim and Park (2018), they identified four stress-coping themes as tactical

qualities for coping against academic stress: (1) creating coping strategies in a physically active

manner (e.g. jogging and sports activities); (2) creating coping strategies in an inactive/positive

manner (e.g. essay writing, music therapy, and internet surfing); (3) utilizing maladaptive coping
mechanisms (e.g. excessive internet gaming and socially deviant behaviors); and, (4) relying

upon religious belief and spiritual power (e.g. bible studies and prayer). Research results also

suggest that a stressful and demanding situation associated with academic stress may provide

new opportunities and strengthen the individuals’ inner capacities, as well as to lead to a higher

possibility of emotional and psychological problems (Kim and Park, 2018). On the other hand,

Esiah-Donkoh (20) disclosed two coping strategies that were conclusively used by the

participants: emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping. Nonetheless, the findings

indicate that students prefer problem-focused strategies in managing their stress on academics. In

the present time, some students have developed their own coping mechanisms to combat various

stressors entailed by the shift in educational learning, and these mechanisms may be in the form

of positive or negative leisure.

Theoretical Framework

Theoretical support for this research comes from the transactional model of stress and

coping developed by Lazarus and Folkman (1987). This theory presents stress as an outcome of a

transaction between the individual and complex environment he/she resides. As a phenomenon,

coping is said to include both cognitive and behavioral responses that are commonly used by

people in an effort to deal with internal and/or external stressors that goes beyond their personal

aptitudes or resources as explained in this theory. Moreover, Walinga (2014) mentioned in her

study the book of Lazarus entitled Psychological Stress and Coping Process (1966), where he

incorporated previous studies related to stress, health, and coping and placed an individual’s

assessment of a stressor at the core of the whole stress experience. It denotes that in a sense, how

a person copes with or act in response to the stressor will be determined by how he/she will

assess the stressor itself.


Stress coping must include a more specific method of cognitive appraisal in order to

determine whether a person has adequate resources that can effectively deal with the demands

posed by a stressor (Folkman and Lazarus, 1988; Lazarus and Folkman, 1987, as cited in

Walinga, 2014). Additionally, the review literature describes the coping experience in connection

with problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping, which are also noted as active and

passive coping styles. Berjot and Gillet (2011) asserted in the same way that coping is a

behavioral response adapted by a person to avoid the harmful consequences of stress and anxiety

as provoked by a particular stimulus.

You might also like