| dc.description.abstract | Abstract: Nearly 80% of students in higher
education worldwide experience psychological
stress during their university life due to
imbalances in social, emotional, and physical
conditions. Stress can lead to poor academic
performance and underachievement among
students. The present study assessed the levels
of perceived stress, general self-efficacy and
their association with socio-demographic
factors among a selected group of
undergraduates at a higher educational
institute. A descriptive cross-sectional study
was performed using stratified random
sampling among 393 undergraduates. The data
were collected through the Perceived Stress
Scale (PSS-10), the General Self-Efficacy Scale
(GSES) and a questionnaire to collect the sociodemographic data. The data were analyzed
using SPSS version 23. The mean age of the
sample (n=393) was 22.36±2.33 years. The
results showed a mean perceived stress score of
20.72±4.96 (moderate perceived stress). The
majority of the participants (79.4%) had
moderate perceived stress, followed by high
stress (12.7%) and low stress (7.4%). There was
no significant difference between the stress
levels of male and female students (p=0.766). No
significant association was observed between
perceived stress and socio-demographic factors
assessed (age, gender, residence status, financial
status, the program of study, employment
prospects) using the chi-squared test. Spearman
correlation showed a significant negative
association between perceived stress levels and
general self-efficacy (p<0.001). Intervention
strategies to develop and improve self-efficacy
among undergraduates should be implemented
as it affects their perceived stress levels and
academic achievements which will impact their
life goals. Further studies are needed to
understand the stressors contributing to stress
among undergraduate students. | en_US |
