Stress and health habits among college students

• Main Author: Sara Katrín Farmer 1996-
• Other Authors: Háskólinn í Reykjavík
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Sálfræði; Streita; Háskólanemar; Hreyfing (heilsurækt); Psychology; College students; Physical activity; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/35844

College can be a stressful time for many students. Because of the severity of health problems stress can cause, students must cope effectively with stress. For that reason, this study examined the prevalence of stress among college students in Iceland, and the methods students are using to cope with stress. Specifically, the relationship between students’ stress and three coping methods; yoga, mindfulness, and physical exercise was examined. Students’ health habits and attitudes were also examined and their relation to students’ stress. A sample of 299 Icelandic undergraduate college students took part in this study. The PSS-10 questionnaire was used to measure students’ stress along with a questionnaire examining their background information, health behavior, coping methods, and attitudes. The results supported hypothesis 1 as students appeared to experience high stress and most students were not using effective coping methods for stress. Hypothesis 2 was also supported as poor sleep and poor nutrition appeared to contribute to high stress. A significant relation was not found between students’ stress and attitudes towards coping methods therefore, hypothesis 3 was not supported. Hypothesis 4 was partly supported as a significant relation was found between stress and physical exercise but not between stress and meditation or yoga. Keywords: stress, college students, coping methods, physical exercise, yoga, mindfulness, meditation, health, mental health, attitude. Háskóli getur verið stressandi tími fyrir marga nemendur og vegna alvarlegra heilsufarsvandamála sem streita getur valdið, verða nemendur að takast á við streitu á áhrifaríkan hátt. Af þeim sökum var þessi rannsókn gerð til að kanna algengi streitu meðal háskólanema á Íslandi og þær aðferðir sem nemendur nota til að takast á við streitu. Nánar tiltekið var sambandið milli streitu nemenda og þriggja bjargráðunaraðferða; jóga, núvitund og líkamshreyfingu kannað. Einnig voru heilsuvenjur og viðhorf nemenda skoðaðar og tengsl þess við streitu nemenda. ...