Int J Ment Health Addiction

DOI 10.1007/s11469-016-9691-1

Effectiveness of Coping Strategies in Reducing Students

Academic Stress
Parvin Zarei 1 & Touraj Hashemi 2 & Smaeil Sadipoor 3 &
Ali Delavar 3 & Zahra Khoshnevisan 1

# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Stress is defined as the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change (Selye
(1987). Stress is the response of the body and mind towards various changes in the physical
environment. People experience stress at any point of their lifetime, possibly caused by death in
the family, divorce, schooling, employment, and illness. The type of stress experienced varies at
different stages of life. (Schneiderman et al. 2005). An unhealthy response to stress occurs when
the demand of the stressor exceeds the persons coping ability (Herbert and Cohen 1993).
When stress is continuous and pressures are intense, physical illness and psychological
distress can ensue. To adapt successfully, it is necessary to respond to stress in a positive way
by using adaptive coping strategies. Adaptive coping strategies such as organising work,
exercise, relaxation, and external support are conductive to better physical and mental health.
On the other hand, coping strategies such as alcohol, drug abuse, smoking, and interpersonal
withdrawal result in maladaptation. When stress becomes chronic, the stress responses such as
elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol level, elevated adrenal level, and elevated blood
sugar can lead to various chronic disorders (Ogden 2007).
Adolescents are are particularly vulnerable to stress as they are face the pressure of
succeeding in their academic life and face an uncertain future. They also face social, emotional,
physical and family problems, which may affect their learning ability and academic performance (Greubel and Kecklund 2011; Jeronimus et al. 2014).
Studies from United Kingdom that have examined coping strategies of medical students have
generally identified alcohol as a commonly practiced coping strategy (Jeronimus et al. 2013;
Schlotz et al. 2011). Other studies have reported the use of substances such as tobacco and illicit
drugs (Pinquart and Srensen 2003; Kemeny 2003). Studies from developing countries like
Pakistan, India, Thailand and Malaysia have emphasized academic work as a source of stress
* Parvin Zarei
zareiparvin@live.com

Emam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran

Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran

Allameh Tabatabayi University, Tehran, Iran

Int J Ment Health Addiction

among medical students (Kobasa 1982; Miller et al. 2009). A study from the United Kingdom
reported a higher rate of psychological morbidity and stressors related to medical training among
first year students in a new problem-based medical curriculum (Yehuda et al. 2001).
Theories of the stressillness linkage suggest that both acute and chronic stress can cause
illness (Kalat 2013), where both kinds of stress can lead to changes in behavior and in
physiology. Behavioral changes can include smoking, eating habits and physical activity.
Physiological changes can account for changes in sympathetic activation or hypothalamic
pituitary adrenocorticoid activation, and immunological function (Kalat 2013).
Stress can make the individual more susceptible to physical illnesses like the common cold
(Selye 1975). Stressful events, such as job changes, may result in insomnia, impaired sleeping,
and health complaints (de Kloet et al. 2005). Research indicates the type of stressor (acute or
chronic), and individual characteristics such as age and physical well-being before the onset of
the stressor can combine to determine the effect of stress on an individual (Kalat 2013). An
individuals personality characteristics (e.g. neuroticism), genetics, and childhood experiences
with major stressors and traumas may also shape the stress response (Kalat 2013).
Psychological coping mechanisms are commonly termed coping strategies or coping skills.
Subconscious or unconscious strategies (i.e. defense mechanisms) are generally excluded
(Zeidner and Endler 1996). The term coping generally refers to adaptive or constructive
coping strategies that reduce stress levels. However, some coping strategies can be considered
maladaptive, causing stress levels to increase. Maladaptive coping responses can thus be
described, in effect, as non-coping (Cummings et al. 1991). Furthermore, the term coping
generally refers to reactive coping, having the coping response follows the stressor. This
contrasts with proactive coping, in which a coping response aims to head off a future stressor
(Lazarus and Folkman 1984).
Various coping strategies have been identified (Carver and Connor-Smith 2010).
Classification of these strategies into a broader architecture has not yet been agreed upon.
Common distinctions are often made between various contrasting strategies, for example:
problem-focused versus emotion-focused; engagement versus disengagement; and cognitive
versus behavioral. Weiten and Lloyd (2008) identifies three broad types of coping strategies:

&
&
&

appraisal-focused: Directed towards challenging ones own assumptions, adaptive

cognitive
problem-focused: Directed towards reducing or eliminating a stressor, adaptive behavioral
emotion-focused: Directed towards changing ones own emotional reaction

Appraisal-focused strategies occur when the person modifies the way they think, for
example: employing denial, or distancing oneself from the problem. People may alter the
way they think about a problem by altering their goals and values, such as by seeing the humor
in a situation (Worell 2001).
People using problem-focused strategies try to deal with the cause of their problem by
finding out information on the problem and learning new skills to manage the problem.
Problem-focused coping is aimed at changing or eliminating the source of the stress.
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) identified three problem-focused coping strategies: taking
control, information seeking, and evaluating the pros and cons.
Emotion-focused strategies involve releasing pent-up emotions, personal distraction, managing hostile feelings, meditating, or using systematic relaxation procedures. Emotion-focused
coping is oriented toward managing the emotions that accompany the perception of stress\

Int J Ment Health Addiction

Table 1 Descriptive indicators of academic stress in pretest and posttest
Group

Mean

S.d

Pretest-Experiment Group

30

104.6

12.6

Posttest- Experiment Group

30

82.39

8.15

Pretest- Control Group

30

103.6

11.49

Posttest- Control Group

30

104.11

12.19

(Brannon and Feist 2009). The five emotion-focused coping strategies identified by Folkman
and Lazarus are disclaiming, escape-avoidance, accepting responsibility or blame, exercising
self-control, and positive reappraisal (as cited in Robinson 2005). Emotion-focused coping is a
mechanism to alleviate distress by minimizing, reducing, or preventing the emotional components of a stressor (Carver as cited in Contrada and Baum 2011). This mechanism can be
applied through a variety of ways, such as seeking social support, reappraising the stressor in a
positive light, accepting responsibility, using avoidance, exercising self-control, and distancing
(Carver as cited in Contrada and Baum 2011; Folkman and Lazarus 1988). The focus of this
coping mechanism is to change the meaning or transfer attention away from the stressor
(Folkman and Lazarus 1988).

Methodology
The purpose of this quasi experimental research was examione the effectiveness of coping
strategy training in reducing students academic stress.
Subjects were recruited from 5000 female high school students in educational district 1 in
Tabriz, Iran. A sample of 60 students were randomly divided into experimental and control
groups. 30 students were selected for the experimental group, and 30 for the control group. To
evaluate academic stress, Kohn and Frazers Stress in Academic Life Scale (SALS) was used,
which consisted of 33 items.

Results
Learning how to cope with stress effectively reduced academic stress in the experimental
group. A univariate analysis of covariance was used. Outcomes of this method are presented in
Tables 1 and 2.
Table 2 Analysis of covariance of stress coping strategies learnings effect on academic stress
Intergroup effects
Dependent variable: academic stress
Sources

Sum of Squares

D.f

Mean Squares

Sig.

Eta Coefficient Square

Groups

601.12

601.12

40.6

0.001

0.4

Error

1136.8

58

19.6

Int J Ment Health Addiction

Table 1 shows that the mean of experimental group in posttest is the lowest mean with value
of 82.39 and standard deviation of 8.15. The authors used non-parametric test of KolmogorovSmirnov test to check for normal distribution of variables. Their results showed a normal
distribution of variables.
Table 2 shows that learning of coping strategies had a significant effect academic stress
reduction. The calculated F (40.6) at 0.05 > P is significant. Tables 1 and 2 indicate that the
mean of academic stress in the experimental group was lower than the control group.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of Interest Authors declare they have no conflict of interest. This research received no specefic grant
from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Informed Consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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