Abstract
This article focuses on student anxiety and stress. These two concepts are close, innate and present in everyone, but can nevertheless lead to pathological reactions or fragility. For students, there are many stress and anxiety factors arising from study itself, from early adulthood and its responsibilities or from problems more related to one’s personality. The aim of this article is to define these concepts, to propose a list of stress and anxiety factors and figures on their prevalence in the student population in order to alarm about the serious and urgent nature of the situation.
1. Introduction
Anxiety and stress are two recurring topics in the press, TV and radio programmes, but despite the literature and research on the subject, the proportion of students who are stressed or anxious is constantly increasing. They are so heavily employed that it is no longer clear what they are really referring to. We will therefore first look at their definition, the sources of stress and anxiety and analyse the figures for them.
2. Definition of stress and anxiety
First, we will define the concepts of anxiety and stress. Anxiety is a human emotion linked to fear, it is a biological alarm allowing individuals to flee from danger (Darwin, 1872, cited by Hess & Thibault, 2009). There are different definitions of the concept of anxiety, for some it is an unpleasant emotional experience, for others it is triggered in anticipation of danger and finally it can be seen as a characteristic of a subject’s personality. However, it is possible to say that anxiety is a universal, innate and normal reaction, although it can go awry in some people. It therefore becomes maladjusted and a source of suffering.
Stress, on the other hand, is composed of three successive phases: an alarm phase, a resistance phase and an exhaustion phase (Selye, 1936). This state of tension, preoccupation or activation is normal (Lemyre & Tessier, 1988). Stress represents a risk factor for the occurrence of other disorders and, over time, it is also problematic for people’s mental health. The concepts of anxiety and stress are different but strongly related to each other.
3. Sources of student stress and anxiety
Sources of stress and anxiety for students may be related to transportation problems, financial problems, material worries or physical appearance. But stress and anxiety among students may also arise from the studies themselves, problems related to motivation, apprehension of exams, lack of time or fear of unemployment.
A study on perceived stress and state anxiety (anxiety felt in an anxiety-provoking situation) in relation to a statistical assignment was conducted among first and second year students. The levels of trait anxiety (predisposition to experience anxiety in a pathological manner) and perceived stress in everyday life were similar between the two groups. In contrast, when examined statistically, the increase in perceived stress and state anxiety levels was greater among first year students. This increase is due to “the perception of what is at stake” (Hellemans, 2004). Indeed, many students are afraid of not being up to scratch or doubting their success on exams and this produces significant levels of stress and anxiety among students (Réveillère & al., 2001). First-year students are prone to stress, the latter caused by difficulties in adapting to university or the responsibilities of young adult life. Pathogenic stress is present throughout the year and is more prevalent during exam periods. Some students even have suicidal thoughts, a depressive state, pathogenic eating behaviours or high additive behaviours. Despite all this data on stress and students’ mental health, little work has been done on this subject and little is being done to improve their mental health (Boujut, Koleck, Bruchon-Schweitzer & Bourgeois, 2009).
4. Figures on student anxiety and stress
Various surveys have revealed an increase in the number of appointments due to stress or anxiety with specialists from university health services in France, which shows that there is a real psychological vulnerability among students. For example, the EMEVIA survey in 2015 reveals that 40% of students suffer from stress (Burrati, 2015), in 2016 a Living Conditions survey is conducted and the results show that 59% of students suffer from stress (Belghith, Ferry, Patros, & Tenret, 2017). An increasing number of students go to counselling for anxiety disorders, about 36% (Benton, Robertson, Tseng, Newton & Benton, 2003). One study found that 50% of students feel anxious, mostly female students, and 15.6% of students use painkillers or stimulants during exam or stress periods (LMDE, EPSE & IFOP, 2005). According to other sources, one third of students in France suffer from anxiety and depressive symptoms, due to loneliness, relationship problems, addictions and especially stress (Grebot & Barumandzadeh, 2005). A 2017 ISNI study reveals that the prevalence of anxiety disorders among students is 66.2% compared to only 26.1% in the general population (ISNI, 2017).
These different surveys do not reveal identical results regarding students’ mental health and the prevalence of anxiety and stress in this population. On the other hand, they all show that many students suffer from stress and anxiety. Students are therefore a population at risk for stress and anxiety.
5. Conclusion
Anxiety and stress are different concepts but with similar definitions, they are sometimes linked. They are an integral part of students’ lives and require more attention. Indeed, students seem to be very affected by anxiety and stress compared to other populations. Anxiety and stress cause discomfort and can even lead to long-term mental and physical health problems. This article helps to illustrate the importance of managing stress and anxiety among students, however, there is still a need to find ways to reduce the levels of anxiety and stress in this part of the population.