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Impact Of Perceived Stress On Academic Performance Among College Students

During Covid-19 Outbreak

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Journal of Positive School Psychology [Link]
2022, Vol. 6, No. 8, 3605-3613

Impact Of Perceived Stress On Academic Performance

Among College Students During Covid-19 Outbreak
Dr. G. PONSELVAKUMAR1 , Mr. S. ALAGURAJA2

1
Guest Faculty, Department of Education, Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed to be University)
Tamil Nadu, India . e-mail: [Link]@[Link], ORCiD- ID: 0000-0003-0890-7099
2
Assistant Professor Department of Physics Thiagarajar College Madurai Tamil Nadu, E-mail:
alagurajaps@[Link]

ABSTRACT
The Progress of the Human race depends on education which is a valuable asset to the human race.
Education contributes to the development of an individual in every aspect like character, discipline, interest,
intelligence, and healthy livelihood which in turn reflects in the overall development of the society as well
as the nation. The covid-19 outbreak became a pandemic and substantially affects the education field and
its routine work. It made the education system to adapt the technology aspect and students along with
teachers started to relay on electronic gadgets for teaching-learning process. Spending prolonged time in
front of the laptop, mobile or other electronic gadgets in an isolated manner will cause stress and anxiety
among the students. This may impact their academic performance. This study aims to measure the perceived
stress among college students and its impact on their academic performance. The Perceived Stress Scale
PSS-10 (1988) standardized by Sheldon Cohen and Willamson was used to collect data for this study.
Students' academic performances were obtained from their percentage of marks in the semester
examination. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 168 students as samples for the
study. The result shows that about 77% of students were having Moderate perceived stress levels and 7%
of students had a high level of perceived stress further it has been noted that perceived stress and academic
achievement were negatively correlated.

Keywords: Academic achievement, College students, Stress, COVID-19 pandemic, Perceived stress,

INTRODUCTION: harmed day to day life of people and affected

every field including the education system. The
“Stress is the trash of modern life-We all
lockdown due to the pandemic changes the
generate it but if you don’t dispose of it
communication pattern that existed so far
properly it will pile up and overtake your
between a teacher and the student. The pandemic
life” - Danzae Pace
outbreak disturbed the traditional education
The rapid spread of the COVID-19 outbreak system; teachers and students were asked to use
infected people with acute infectious pneumonia the online platforms and technology for the
all over the world(Radwan et al., 2021). To teaching-learning process and assessment
control the spreading of the virus and protect purpose also. Trucano (2012) stated that “zeal
people from getting infected the government for the use of computers and other Information
shuts down the nation in all aspects and closed all Communication Technology (ICT) in education
the educational institutions including schools and is irrefutable and widespread (Ramganesh &
colleges in Tamil Nadu, India. The pandemic Paulraj, 2016). Even though, the prolonged usage
 Dr. G. PONSELVAKUMAR 3606

of electronic gadgets and online platforms along their academic careers, they are given more
with isolation and absence of physical presence liberty and must deal with new experiences as
with friends due to COVID-19 leads to stress well as adapt to a new educational environment.
among the student community. They are also confronted with a foreign way of
life and an unfamiliar social milieu (Elias, Ping &
Stress can be defined as a particular relationship
Abdullah, 2011). The university acknowledges
between the person and the environment that is
the rise in stress among students on the campus as
appraised by the person as challenging or
a serious issue (Misra & Castillo, 2004; Sax,
exceeding his/her resources and endangering
1997).
his/her wellbeing’. Stress is a pressing issue in
everyone's life. It is related to a stumbling block NEED FOR THE STUDY
in the fulfilling of demands. It could be caused to
Pandemic has heavily affected normal life.
frustration, conflict, or pressure, but it is felt as
Everyone’s normal routine has been lost. Every
psychological and bodily strain (Atkinson et. al.,
sector has been badly damaged. Among them, the
1988). According to Cannon (1932), stress can be
educational sector has also been extremely
defined as the process through which the body
affected. Though educational institutes have been
reaches an aroused state known as the fight-or-
closed, the educational system was never shut
flight reaction in response to a perceived threat
down; however, it was restructured. To maintain
(Sharma, 2011). "Stress is people's reaction to
continuity, education has migrated towards
excessive demands or other sorts of demand
online education, and education has moved
placed on them." It appears when they are
towards the doorsteps of the learners.
concerned about their ability to deal
"(Rubenstein, 1999). On the other side, there is Although these significant actions and efforts are
positive perceived stress, which motivates us to highly commendable and necessary, there are
act. The pleasant type of stress is known as also reasons to worry that drawn-out school
"eustress," and it is related with positive feelings suspension, home confinement, and distance
and healthy conduct. This type of stress is crucial learning may have adverse effects on college
for individuals since we frequently need to students’ physical and mental health (Yang et al.,
perceive stress in order to act and improve with 2021). As a result of academic duties, financial
our activities (Bruce, 2009). There is a saying that restrictions, and a lack of time management
even an elixir becomes danger when it exceeds skills, university students may experience
the limit like that a mild or low level of stress may considerable levels of stress. When stress is
give some favour in cognitive tasks but when the perceived negatively or becomes excessive, it can
stress became high it may lead to anxiety along harm students' health and academic performance
with depression. (Jha et al., 2012). Stress has the potential to
impair learning and memory. Although an
While considering the stress among students the
optimal level of stress can improve learning
traditional view is that the college students
ability (Kaplan & Sadock, 2000), too much stress
endure more pressure and more serious physical
can lead to physical and mental health problems
and mental health problems when compared with
(Niemi & Vainiomaki, 1999; Laio et al., 2007),
other student groups like school students said by
lower self-esteem (Bressler & Bressler, 2007;
GaoW, PingS, Liu X (Yang et al., 2021). Many
Linn & Zeppa, 1984; Silver & Glicken, 1990),
university students have a severe difficulty with
and negatively impact student academic
the impression of high levels of stress
achievement (Choi et al., 2007; Elliot et al., 2005;
(Nandamuri & Ch, 2011). When students begin
Hofer, 2007; Robbins et al., 2006; Trautwein et
 3607 Journal of Positive School Psychology

al., 2006; Was et al., 2006). (Rafidah et al., stress among college students whose
2009). parents are literate and illiterate.
• To find out whether there is any
According to Dusselier, Dunn, Wang, Shelley &
significant difference between academic
Whalen, (2005); Misra & McKean, (2000) the
performance among college students
stressful life events of the college students leads
whose parents are literate and illiterate.
to reduced academic performance and also affects
• To find out the correlation between
the quality of health among the college students
perceived stress and academic
(Khan et al., 2013). Therefore stress may have
performance among college students
some impact on the academic achievement of the
who were attending online classes.
students, therefore, the researcher assumes there
is a relationship between the level of perceived
HYPOTHESIS:
stress among college students and their academic
performance. The present study attempts to • The college students who were attending
measure the perceived stress level and its impact online classes had a below-average level
on academic performance of college students of perceived stress.
who are attending online classes. Hence, the • The college students who were attending
present study. online classes had a below-average level
of academic performance.
OBJECTIVES: • There is no significant difference in the
• To find out the level of perceived stress perceived stress among college students
among college students who were who were attending online classes
attending online classes. concerning their gender, place of
• To find out the academic performance residence, and the educational level of
among college students who were their parents
attending online classes. • There is no significant difference in the
• To find out whether there is any academic performance among college
significant difference between perceived students who were attending online
stress among male and female students. classes for their gender, place of
• To find out whether there is any residence, and the educational level of
significant difference between academic their parents
performance among male and female • There is no positive correlation between
students. perceived stress and academic
• To find out whether there is any performance among college students
significant difference between perceived who were attending online classes.
stress among college students who were
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
attending online classes from rural and
urban areas. POPULATION:
• To find out whether there is any
significant difference between academic A population is the number of all the organisms
performance among college students of the same group or species, which live in a
who were attending online classes from particular geographical area and have the
capacity of interbreeding. In this study, college
rural and urban areas.
students attending online classes due to the covid-
• To find out whether there is any
significant difference between perceived
 Dr. G. PONSELVAKUMAR 3608

19 outbreak in Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, stress. It was standardized by Sheldon

India have been taken as the population. Cohen and Williamson in 1988. It
consists of 10 questions that seek the
SAMPLE:
respondent's feelings and thoughts
The investigator used the simple random during a certain time frame. PSS-10
sampling technique for selecting the samples measures an individual’s appraisal of
from the population. The present study consists their life as stressful.
of 168 college students from various arts and
Internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient)
science colleges in the Dindigul district of Tamil
for PSS-10 was 0.78 in the Harris poll samples,
Nadu, India.
and 0.91 in both the 2006 and 2009 e Nation
DELIMITATION: samples.

• The present study is concentrating only This scale includes two factors (Golden-Kreutz et
on Arts and Science college students who al., 2004; Robert et al., 2006; Demir,2009;
are attending online classes during the Barbosa-Leiker et al., 2013)
covid-19 outbreak. Even though there are
The factor I (Perceived Helplessness) is made of
many other professional course students. negatively phrased items (Items 1,2,3,6,9 &10).
• The present study concentrates only on
the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu, Factor II (Perceived Efficacy) is made of
India. Positively phrased items (Items 4,5, 7, 8).

DESCRIPTION OF TOOL: It is designed to tap how

In this present study, the investigator used an • Unpredictable

online questionnaire that was distributed to • Uncontrollable and
college students. Google Forms was created and • Overloading respondents find their lives.
used for this survey and the link was shared via
SCORING PROCEDURE:
Whatsapp Groups. The online questionnaire
consisted of two Sections. The Scoring procedure for this study is very
simple.
1. Section A is the Student's profile
(developed by the researcher). This 1. PSS questionnaire was scored according
section consists of the Socio- to the following manner. It consists of a
demographic characteristics of the Five-point Likert scale that captures
students. responses ranging from Never to Very
In addition to that, the student’s Often with the scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3&4
academic performance was obtained for negative items and vice versa for
from their Percentage of marks in the last positive items. Getting high scores
semester's Examination which is indicates a higher level of perceived
commonly used to measure academic stress
performance in universities.
2. Section B was the Perceived stress scale STATISTICAL TREATMENT:
(Cohen and Williamson, 1988) The statistical treatments employed in the study
The PSS-10 is a self-reported scale to were listed below.
measure the global level of perceived
 3609 Journal of Positive School Psychology

I. “t” test for significant difference Therefore the framed Null hypothesis has been
between the means of large accepted.
independent samples.
Table 2 shows that the obtained ‘t’ value 2.232 is
II. Pearson's product-moment
greater than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level of
correlation "r".
significance. This shows that there is a significant
difference between the perceived stress among
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS the students from rural and urban areas. Further,
it has been noted that students from rural areas
RESULTS: have more levels of perceived stress than those
students from urban areas. This shows that the
HYPOTHESIS 1 framed Null hypothesis has been rejected.
The college students who were attending online
In table 2 the obtained ‘t’ value 1.395 is less than
classes had a below-average level of perceived
the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance.
stress.
This shows that there is no significant difference
Table 1 shows that about 77% of students were between the perceived stress among the students
having a moderate level of perceived stress and whose parents were literate and illiterate.
7% and 15% of students were having a high and Therefore the framed Null hypothesis has been
low level of stress during this COVID-19 accepted.
Outbreak. Figure 1 shows the graphical
HYPOTHESIS 4
representation.
Table 3 shows that obtained ‘t’ value 3.354 is
Hence Hypothesis 1 is rejected.
greater than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level of
HYPOTHESIS 2 significance. This shows that there is a significant
The college students who were attending online difference between the academic performance
classes had a below-average level of academic among male and female students. Further, it has
performance. been noted that females are having a high level of
The empirical average score of academic academic performance than male students.
performance among college students who were Therefore the framed null hypothesis has been
attending online classes is found to be 77.39881, rejected.
while the theoretical average is 50. Thus, the
Table 3 shows that the obtained ‘t’ value 0.694 is
college students who were attending online
lesser than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level of
classes had above-average levels of academic
significance. This shows that there is no
performance.
significant difference between the academic
Hence Hypothesis 2 is rejected. performance among the students from rural and
urban areas. This shows that the framed Null
HYPOTHESIS 3
hypothesis has been accepted.
Table 2 shows that the obtained ‘t’ value 1.017 is
In table 3 obtained ‘t’ value 0.015 is lesser than
less than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level of
the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance.
significance. This shows that there is no
This shows that there is no significant difference
significant difference between the perceived
between the academic performance among the
stress among male and female students.
students whose parents were literate and illiterate.
 Dr. G. PONSELVAKUMAR 3610

This shows that the framed Null hypothesis has performances of college students based on their
been accepted gender at 0.05 significant level. Further it shows
that females were having high academic
HYPOTHESIS 5
performance than their counterpart male students.
There is no positive correlation between
However there is a negative correlation between
perceived stress and academic performance
the perceived stress and academic performance,
among the college students who were attending
which shows that increases in perceived stress
online classes.
level will decrease the academic performance of
The obtained 'r-value is -0.07261, the table value the college students. The sudden pandemic
is 0.15. Hence there is a negative correlation situation brought lots of changes in the lifestyle
between perceived stress and academic of people especially the way of teaching and
performance among the college students who learning got many changes which both the
were attending online classes. students and the teachers felt difficult to fit in.
Students became anxious and stressed both
Hence Hypothesis 5 is accepted. physically and mentally due to the pandemic
DISCUSSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: situation and its effect.

The results show that 77% of college students The male students are having less academic
who were attending online classes had a moderate performance than the female students therefore
level of stress and 7% of students were having a male students should be motivated to improve
high level of stress which needs more attention their academic performance. The rural students
and importance has to be given in order to reduce are having a high level of perceived stress during
their level of perceived stress. The results this covid-19 outbreak than the urban students.
indicates that among the independent variables Proper motivation and activities should be
like Gender, Place of residence and Educational provided for the rural students in order to reduce
level of parents only the variable Place of their stress levels.
residence has significant influence in the CONCLUSION
perceived stress level. The result shows that there
is a significant difference between the perceived The study has conducted to address the level of
stress level among the college students from rural perceived stress among the college students
area and urban area at 0.05 significant level. The during the covid-19 pandemic and its relationship
result implies that in general students from rural with academic performance. Further to compare
area had high level of perceived stress than their perceived stress and academic performance
counterparts from urban area. The possible among students on the basis of their gender, place
explanation to this situation is probably students of residence and educational level of their
from rural area were having less exposure to the parents. A sample of 168 students, were taken
electronic communication gadgets, which from various colleges of Dindigul district, Tamil
became part and partial of education system Nadu. The result shows that there is a negative
during the pandemic period and less awareness correlation between perceived stress and
about the covid-19 situation which might increase academic performance among college students,
their stress level. and there is a significant difference between male
and female students in their academic
In addition the result shows that there is a performance and further there is a significant
significant difference between the academic difference between students from rural and urban
 3611 Journal of Positive School Psychology

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Tables & Figures:

Table: 1 Stress level among college students during covid-19

TOTAL MEAN SCORE LEVEL OF STRESS % of students

0-13 Low stress 15%

14-25 Moderate stress 77%
26-40 High stress 7%

Fig:1–Graphical representation of stress level among college students during covid-19 outbreak
 3613 Journal of Positive School Psychology

Sales

Low Stress

Moderate Stress

High Stress Table:2 Mean,

SD, and 't' –
scores on
Perceived stress of college students
Dependent Variables N mean Standard ‘t’ S
Variable deviation value

Gender Male 65 17.6462 5.80794 1.017 NS

Perceived Stress

Female 103 18.5340 4.99768

Place of Residence Rural 119 18.7731 5.25686 2.232 S
Urban 49 16.7755 5.28072
Educational Level of Literate 100 17.7300 5.56478 1.395 NS
Parents
Illiterate 68 18.8676 4.91694

Table: 3 Mean, SD, and ‘t’ –scores on Academic performance of college students
Dependent Independent Variables N mean Standard ‘t’ value S
Variable deviation

Gender Male 65 74.2308 10.96838 3.354 S

Female 103 79.3981 7.33958
Performance
Academic

Place of Rural 119 77.1008 9.63521 0.694 NS

Residence Urban 49 78.1224 8.25033
Educational Literate 100 77.3900 9.17165 0.015 NS
Level of Illiterate 68 77.4118 9.40821
Parents

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