Stress and the College Experience - Essay Example

Section/# Stress and the College Experience As many have indicated, the college years are among the most stressful years that an individual will likely experience. However, beyond merely denoting that university/college students are stressed and that this has a negative impact upon their lives, not to mention their mental and physiological health, it is necessary to understand and define some of the reasons for why these students are stressed as well as indicate what can be done to ameliorate this. As a function of this, the following analysis will attempt to put forward some of the main causal factors that contribute to stress within the life college student as well as some prescriptive changes that can be utilized as a function of reducing the overall level stress. In such a manner, it is the hope of this particular author that the information which will be put forward can be useful not only in seeking to further define this negative externality of you but in seeking to promote best practices that will improve the quality of life, health, and stress reduction of the individual that might otherwise high stress during their college years. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, there are two types of pressures that are inherent within the university system. The first of these has to do with pressures that are placed upon the student by the University and those that are placed on the student by none other than the student themselves. Although these definitions may seem somewhat simplistic, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms by which these stressors impact upon the student are various and multifaceted. Taking the example of the way in which the University creates expectations that stress the student, this can of course be understood in terms of race, scholarships, class standing, and other norms that exist within the University system. Whereas it is true that it is necessary for a student to put forth maximum effort as a function of learning the material at hand, most educators would currently agree that the University education has become so focused upon this component of education that the learning of the material, is a distant third or fourth in terms of overall priorities (Pedersen 623). This is a fundamental drawback and weakness that is exhibited within the current educational system in colleges and universities around the country. In order for this to be ameliorated, it will be necessary for universities and colleges to insist that educational attainment and knowledge acquisition is the main determinant by which success can be judged; not only rates. Unfortunately, the current system is one in which grade at come to be represented at the true measurement of whether learning is taking place and the fulfillment of the reason behind education is being achieved. In order for this particular stressor to be positively affected, it will be necessary for institutions of higher education to promote a more dynamic and insightful measurement of whether or not learning is taking place. Studies abound within academic research that indicates that those students that are necessarily gifted in taking tests and regurgitating certain aspects of information are invariably those that are the best grades. However, the same studies also indicate that actual levels of knowledge in terms of course material are oftentimes represent a higher level with students that do not work so well on the standardized tests that are so often from the backbone of university education. To promote learning and reduce stress, there must be a concerted effort amongst educators to seek to diversity the way in which attainment is measured and educational goals are affected. Another primary stressor that exists within the light is is of course related to personally opposed stress that is the result of a variety of different life experiences and personal issues. Depth and complexity of these is oftentimes such that it is difficult to describe a very thorough more all-encompassing method by which this can be ameliorated. However, one aspect of college/university stress that is oftentimes overlooked by individuals within the University system, and indeed within the medical system as well has to do with the difficulties and hardships of adolescence and the transition to adulthood that individuals oftentimes made during this particular period in time. For many, this period of time, more specifically the university years, are ones that are defined by hardships relating to finances, large levels of debt, the beginning of serious relationships, and potential breakouts, as well as distance from family members that have not yet been experienced. Each and every single one of these hardships something that can create difficulty and stressed the student’s life. Yet, universities and colleges around the nation do not extend any effort in seeking to address these stressors and/or allowing students to gain a level of insight with respect to what they can do as a means of reducing the negative externalities that these experiences and events might affect. In order to accomplish a more effective needs assessment of these types of stresses, it is the recommendation of this particular analyst that colleges and universities should not solely focused upon addressing the educational needs of students. Instead, the developmental health and well-being of these students is also something that should be considered. Within almost each and every orientation program for an undergraduate degree, colleges and universities find it necessary to agree students with regard to issues pertaining to health and responsibilities that are unique with regard to college. However, almost without exception, these orientation programs are not extending to the issue of stress and how it can impact negatively upon the overall health and well-being of the student. Whereas the University 101 courses abound within higher education as a means of presenting the unique tools and necessary requirements to benefit from a University degree, these courses almost invariably do not discuss any level of stress management where the means by which the transition between childhood/adolescent and adult effectively be accomplished. Within such an understanding, the reader can appreciate the fact that stress, and the means by which student integrates with it, is something that can be taught. Accordingly, rather than focusing upon benefiting the students overall educational goals alone, the University is ultimately a preparatory transition in which the student gains an understanding of how the world works and their part in interacting with it (Robotham 731). Likewise, is not beyond the scope of expectation that the University should expend time, resources, and effort in order to instruct students concerning the means by which stress should be dealt with and how it forms a dangerous element within the life of any college/university student. Provided with the tools that had been analyzed above, the individual student can come to a more full and complete understanding of stress and the means by which they can engage with it rather than letting it will their lives. Although many individuals would be of the opinion that stress is a required part of the college experience and one student should learn to live with, the negative effect on health and the overall enjoyment and potential for education that stress effects within the college experience is such that this particular point of view is understandably useless. Rather than embracing stress as a necessary requirement of preparation for adulthood, it should be understood and appreciated by all stakeholders that the actual level of stress exhibited with college and university is in fact much higher as compared to many other periods of life. Furthermore, as the individual student utilizes the college experience as a means of gaining inference with regard to how they should order the rest of their life and how they should expect to engage with potential difficulties and hardships, seeking to define this within these years and promoting a healthful level of stress management is an essential complement; not only with regard to promoting higher level of education but also with respect to seeking to benefit the potential future outcome for the individual in question. Furthermore, a litany of health studies have indicated that high levels of stress exhibited within the life of the individual are tantamount to other negative health practices; such as smoking a pack of cigarettes each and every day. Studies that have compare the overall representation of stress on human health as compared to smoking have determined that even though both of these practices are understood in significantly different lights, they have nearly the same impact upon the longevity and potential for help that the individual hopes to experience within their own life (May et al. 270). As such, in much the same way that colleges and universities have sought to restrict unhealthful behaviors such as smoking and alcohol abuse on campus, it is also well within the bounds of reason to promote the fact that individual universities and colleges take a more active role in seeking to restrict the degree and extent to which stresses exhibited as well is provide programs and education that provide individuals with the tools necessary to integrate with the stress and realize a positive outcome. From the information that has thus far been described, it is clear and apparent that stress is an essential complement of the way in which life exists. Rather than viewing the world through rose tinted glasses and expecting that individuals can be sheltered from stress throughout the course of their entire lives, it has been the position of this particular analyst to indicate the fact that stress within college and universities of the current era is ultimately represented to a higher degree as compared to any time previously. In tandem with the degree and extent to which stress reduces the educational potential of the individual, as well as the negative health impacts that it portends, it must be realized that each and every effort should be taken as a means of educating individuals with respect to dealing with stress as well as seeking to promote an environment in which stress is engaged at each and every possible opportunity. Regardless of the changes that are made, or whether or not the prescriptions for change that this analysis has promoted are followed, stress will continue to be a dynamic part of the University experience as long as education and testing are exhibited. Nevertheless, churning out generation after generation of extraordinarily uptight and stressed graduates creates a work environment that is not only unhealthful, it is unproductive. Likewise, as the ultimate goal of the educational process is to provide a gifted, talented, and well-balanced workforce, the degree and extent to which stresses currently exhibited and the overall prognosis for the future is troubling as well as it is profound. Works Cited MAY, Ross W., and STEPHEN P. CASAZZA. "Academic Major As A Perceived Stress Indicator: Extending Stress Management Intervention." College Student Journal 46.2 (2012): 264-273. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 July 2014. Robotham, David. "Stress Among Higher Education Students: Towards A Research Agenda." Higher Education 56.6 (2008): 735-746. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 July 2014. PEDERSEN, DAPHNE E. "Stress Carry-Over And College Student Health Outcomes." College Student Journal 46.3 (2012): 620-627. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 July 2014. Read More