INTRODUCTION
Significance of the Study
Accounting students are often exposed to numerous obstacles that hinder
their academic success (Tamayo, 2023). The demanding nature of their programs
involves mastering complex subjects such as financial accounting, taxation, auditing,
and business law, while also preparing for their rigorous qualifying exam and
ultimately the CPA board exam (Maghinay, 2024). These academic demands,
coupled with tight deadlines, high expectations, and the competitiveness required for
the accounting programs, can result in academic stress (Gobena, 2024). This stress
is not merely a temporary burden, as it directly influences their study habits, well-
being, and personal values, which may lead students to engage in unethical
practices (Ali and Aboelmaged, 2021). The behavior, if left unaddressed, may later
translate into professional misconduct once students enter the workplace (Mulisa
and Ebessa, 2021).
In previous studies, researchers found that unethical academic behaviour of
students was primarily driven by their individual characteristics and personal
motivations. According to Surahman and Wang (2022), Waltzer, Samuelson, and
Dahl (2024), and Zhang, Amos, and Pentina (2025), the results show that students'
decisions to cheat were strongly influenced by different factors such as perceived
lack of ability, laziness, and self-interest. In addition, the study of Anitha & Sundaram,
2021; Zhao et al., (2024) indicates that students may likely to engaged in academic
misconduct as shaped by prevailing societal orientations, parental expectations, and
peer influence when academic success becomes the measure of self-worth. In
addition to these individual factors, socio-cultural and environmental pressures also
serve as key determinants of how student behaves. Simultaneously, institutional and
ethical context further mold students’ behaviour. The academic environment of
students, with emphasis on the faculty’s enforcement of ethical standards, peer-
determined norms, and the prevailing ethical culture, can function as safeguards
against misconduct, while the absece or lacking of these elements may inadvertently
encourage cheating (Rettinger et al., 2024; Cheng, Hung, & Hsu, 2021; Aguilar,
2021).
Despite the extensive literature, most studies were conducted in international
contexts or general tertiary education contexts. There is limited research focusing
specifically on accounting students in the Philippines, specifically at the University of
Southern Mindanao. While earlier research highlights technological and systemic
enablers of academic misconduct, including relianced on the Artificial Intelligence
(AI) tools and the availability of online solution manuals, as determinants that foster
academic dishonesty (Song, 2024; Cui et al., 2024; Ali et al., 2024). Emipirical
support is still insufficient in examining policy-driven academic stress on students,
such as retention-related stress which becomes a precursor to unethical behavior.
The various types of stress has not been fully identified by the existing studies that
shaped by the interplay of sociocultural influences, personal dispositios, and
institutional environment in inducing students to engage in misconduct, particularly
stress stemming from retention policies serving as a significant factor in propensity
toward academic dishonesty.
Therefore, this study can provide information and guidance to the students to
become aware of how stress triggers dishonest behavior and encourage them to
seek healthier ways to cope with academic stress. It would also help teachers and
academic institutions about the root causes of academic dishonesty and redesign
systems from solely punishing dishonesty to actively preventing it by modifying the
stressful academic environment and fairer assessments, which would uphold the
institution's integrity and quality of provided education. Additionally, it would provide
insights to the families of these students about the immense academic stress they
have undergone which allows them to be a source of support in their children's
academic journey. Lastly, it would serve as a reference for future researchers in
studying academic stress and unethical behavior.
Research Objectives
The main problem of the study is to determine the influence of academic
stress on the ethical behavior of accounting students from the University of Southern
Mindanao.
Specifically, it aims to:
1. To determine the Academic Stress experienced by accounting students
from the University of Southern Mindanao.
2. To determine the ethical behavior of accounting students from the
University of Southern Mindanao in terms of:
2.1. academic integrity,
2.2. honesty, and;
2.3. decision-making.
3. To determine the relationship between academic stress and the ethical
behavior of accounting students from the University of Southern Mindanao
in terms of:
3.1. academic integrity,
3.2. honesty, and;
3.3. decision-making.