Perceived academic stress among undergraduate students: peers, time management and self-inflicted aspects

Abstract

Students are the next generation of leaders to govern the country. However, many pressures affect their performance and life at university such as academic and social pressures. These pressures can sometimes cause stress among students. Having suicidal thoughts, taking drugs, and dropping out of college are some of the situations that might be caused by pressures and stress among students. Among all types of stress faced by students, academic stress is one of the reasons why some students fall into deeper problems such as depression and anxiety. Academic stress can come from various reasons such as lecturers, assignments, peers and much more. Thus, this paper aims to identify the academic stress level among students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). A total of 100 students involved in this study which require them to answer a survey regarding sources of stress. The result from the survey is analyzed to determine the level of stress according to each source of stress. The results from this study will enable students, educators and universities to observe and take action on how to help students who suffer from academic stress during their study and for future research to further explore in this issue.