A Study on the Onset of Academic Stress During the Transition from Secondary Education to Undergraduate Studies

Abstract

Academic stress is a challenge in every student\'s life. Its impact often results in reduced academic productivity and compromised semester results. Additionally, it can lead to health issues such as anxiety, depression, headaches, and fatigue. This study aims to identify the stress-related challenges students face and analyze the key factors contributing to academic stress. To understand its impact on academic performance, 100 students from the first-year of Bachelor\'s students were taken as the sample for the study. The findings indicate that stress factors are significantly due to the transitional change in teaching patterns and academic environment. The change in learning pattern, i.e., from teachers\' focused learning of higher education schools to an independent framework of the University, underscores the importance of addressing stress to students\' academic growth and life values, leading them to boost their confidence and adaptability.

Introduction

Definition and Nature of Stress:

• Stress is a physical or psychological response to external or internal pressures.

• Triggered by various stressors such as negative thoughts, social or academic pressure, fear of failure, and personal issues.

• Physiologically, stress activates hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to prepare the body for threat (fight-or-flight response).

• While stress is typically seen as negative, mild stress can be motivational, enhance performance, and encourage creativity.

Negative Impacts of Stress:

• If prolonged or intense, stress can lead to:

  • Illness, mental health issues

  • Poor academic performance

  • Substance abuse

  • Disengagement from social and academic life

Academic Stress:

• Defined as anxiety or distress related to academic tasks like exams, homework, and performance pressure.

• Arises when academic demands exceed a student’s coping abilities.

• Affects students’ mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

• Has a negative impact on academic achievement, self-esteem, and behavior.

Major Contributing Factors to Academic Stress:

1. Academic pressure to succeed and outperform peers.

2. Heavy workload and tight deadlines.

3. High expectations from parents, teachers, and self.

4. Fear of failure and poor grades.

5. Social pressure (peer relationships, social media, etc.).

6. Personal issues (family problems, health concerns).

7. Lack of clear goals or motivation.

Positive Aspects of Academic Stress (if managed):

• Can motivate students to perform better.

• Improves time management and planning skills.

• Fosters resilience and a sense of achievement.

Literature Review Highlights:

• Narasappa (2012): Mental health issues in Indian college students; suggests counselling and stress management.

• Mussarat & Seema: Stress increases → academic performance decreases; younger students more vulnerable.

• Struthers et al.: Emphasized teaching coping strategies to enhance motivation and performance.

• Subramani et al.: Academic pressure harms student mental well-being; suggests reforms and parent education.

• Ranjita & Linda: Cultural and gender-specific stress in universities.

• Akgün & Ciarrochi: Resourceful students manage stress better.

• Suresh Prabu: Male, urban, private-school, science-stream students report higher stress.

• Juvilyn et al.: Categorized stress into interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic, and environmental.

• Aihie & Ohanaka: Final-year and physical science students face most stress; recommends counselling.

• Wilson & Gillies: Transition to university is stressful; self-efficacy is key.

• Weidner et al.: Academic pressure negatively affects student health behaviors; emphasizes stress management.

• Petrit: Self-management is a major stressor for 75.8% of students.

• Marwan: Religious coping, time management, and family pressure in Saudi students.

• Waqas et al.: Academic stress leads to sleep disorders in medical students; calls for reforms and support systems.

Conclusion

The study concluded that academic stress is a prominent concern among students transitioning from 12th grade to university life, new semester exams, ongoing grading and much tougher expectations can pile up ,which collectively leads to increased stress levels. Statistics show that approximately 32% of students experienced intense academic stress indicating the intense pressure and difficulty in adapting to the new educational environment; in contrast , 27% of students manage to maintain low stress levels , suggesting that effective coping strategies ,prior presentation, and strong support networks really make a difference in how students manage academic demands. Collectively these figures highlight the necessity for educational institutions to recognize the challenges of this transition and implement supportive measures such as academic mentoring ,stress management workshops transition support programs, and psychological counseling services when university builds such caring environment ,they ease the mental load of course work and enable students to meet university demands with greater confidence and fall as strain.

References

[1] Aihie. O. N. & Ohanaka B. I. (2019) “Perceived Academic Stress among undergraduate students in a Nigerian University” [2] Akgün S. & Ciarrochi J. ( 2003) “Learned resourcefulness moderates the relationship between academic stress and academic performance” [3] Auerbach M.S. & Grambling S. E. (1997) “Stress management: psychological foundations” [4] Bernstein D. A., Penner L. A., Stewart A. C. & Roy E. J. (2007) Pschyology (8th ed.) Houghton Mifflin Company. [5] Bisht A. R. (1980) “A study of stress in relation to school climate and academic achievement ( age group 13-17)” [6] Bulo J. A. , Dr.Sanchez M.G. (2014) \"Sources of Stress among College Students\" [7] Dwyer, A. L. & Cummings, A. L. (2001) “Stress, self-efficacy, social support, and coping strategies in university students. Canadian Journal of Counseling” [8] Ghatol S. D. (2017) \"Academic Stress among Higher Secondary School Students: A Review\" [9] Jableen Khan M., Altaf S. & Kausar H. (2018) “Effect of perceived academic stress on student\'s performance” [10] Jain G. & Singhai M. (2017) \"Academic Stress Amongst Students: A Review of Literature\" [11] Krishan Lal (2014) \"Academic Stress among Adolescent in Relation to intelligence and Demographic Factors\" [12] Kumaraswamy N. ( 2012) \"Academic Stress, Anxiety and Depression among College Students- A Brief Review” [13] Misra R. and Castillo L. G. (2000) \"Academic Stress Among College Students; Comparison of American and International Students” [14] Passer M. W. and Smith R. E. (2007) “Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour (3rd ed.)” [15] Prabu P. S. (2015) \"A Study on Academic Stress among Higher Secondary Students\" [16] Richlin-Klonsky, J. & Hoe, R. (2003) \"Sources and Levels of Stress among UCLA Students - Student Affairs Briefing, 2” [17] Struthers C. W., Perry R. P. and Menec V. H. (2000) \"An Examination of the Relationship among Academic Stress, Coping, Motivation, and Performance in College\" [18] Subramani C. & Kadhiravan S. (2017) \"Academic Stress and Mental Health among High School Students\" [19] Taraj P. (2013) “The Relationship between Academic Stress of Students and the Factors that Affect on it” [20] Verma, S. & Gupta, J. (1990) “Some aspects of high academic stress and symptoms. Journal of Personality and Clinical Studies” [21] Wagas A., Khan S., Sharif W., Khalid U. and Ali A. (2015) “Association of academic stress with sleeping difficulties in medical students of a Pakistani medical school: a cross sectional survey” [22] Weidner G., Kohlmann C. W., Dotzauer E. & Burns L.R. (2007) “The effects of academic stress on health behaviors in young adults” [23] Wilks, S. E. (2008) “Resilience amid Academic Stress: The Moderating Impact of Social Support among Social Work Students. Advances in Social Work” [24] Wilson G. and Gillies R. M. (2005) \"Stress Associated With the Transition From High School to University: The Effect of Social Support and Self-Efficacy\" [25] Zaid M. B. (2013) \"Academic Stress Among Undergraduate Students: The Case of Education Faculty at King Saud University\"

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Vaishnavi S. Dalvi , Aditi S. Janerao, Gaurang N. Rane, Niddhi H. Pandya, Nissar A. Reshi. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.