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Few studies have examined graduate students and stress. At a large, Southeastern university, 223 graduate students completed a survey about factors contributing their stress, current coping strategies and related university services. A majority felt stressed (48.9%) or very stressed (24.7%). There were significant differences in coping strategies of males and females. Many were interested in learning about and using new coping strategies such as massage, yoga and meditation. Additionally, affordable health insurance, improving the physical environment (i.e., parking), and increasing communication in the academic context could reduce stress levels. Discussion about how health centers, counseling centers and other Student Affairs departments can help the university address these issues to reduce overall graduate student stress is included.
Stress can be defined as, "the inability to cope with a perceived (real or imaginary) threat to one's mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being which results in a series of physiological responses and adaptations" (Seaward, 2002, p. 4). This threat can be either positive (eustress) such as graduation or starting a new relationship, or negative, also called distress, with examples including academic probation or not being able to pay for school. Similarly, there are two major types of Stressors: life events (such as relocation and death) and chronic strains (such as multiple roles and inadequate finances). Students attending a university can experience both eustress and distress in the chronic or life event forms. Life events can include starting college, possibly in a new area without a social support network or graduating. Chronic stress for students can include, but is not limited to, their living environment, academic pressures, and financial concerns.
Within the college population, mental health issues have been well documented (Benton, Robertson, Wen-Chih, Newton, & Benton, 2003; Gallagher, 2004; Kisch, Leino, & Silverman, 2005; Young, 2003). According to a recent national health college survey, 1 in 10 college students have been diagnosed with deoression (National Mental Health Association [NMHAl. 2006V Another study of 13,000 university students found that the number of students with depression had increased significantly from 1989 to 2001, as did the percentage of students who were suicidal (Benton, et al., 2003). A recent national study showed that 10.7% of college students surveyed had seriously considered attempting suicide in the last 12 months and 2.0%...