Stress in Academic Life of Pharmacy Students: Psychophysiological Assessment via Cardiovascular Reactivity Experiment

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Date
2011-01
Authors
NORI, ALI YOUSIF
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Abstract
Research of stress and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) is one of the pillars in the health care system. It enhances the understanding of human behavior towards daily challenges and needs. It goes further to anticipate precursor risk factors of future cardiovascular disease (CVD). Behavioral or psychological stress is one of many factors that could contribute to the development of essential hypertension (HT) in susceptible individuals. Excessive stress in academic life affects all the students and _ de-motivates them for gaining higher performance. Specific types of stress are assessed psychologically (by questionnaires), while total affecting stress is assessed physiologically (by the aid ofCVR-stress experiments). Two purposes were behind developing the Stress in Academic Life Scale (SALS) in this study: measuring stress, and identifying stressors that interfere with. students' life and their academic achievement. CVR-stress experiment was employed to get clear evaluation of the role of academic stress on the general stress of pharmacy students. For a period of six months, data was collected through participation of a total of 488 students in validation of SALS as well as being part of the physiological CVR-stress experiment. The resulted level of academic stress was relatively low (mean score = 1.17 ±.40) among majority of students in School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia even though it is degrading factor for high academic performance (P < 0.001; r = -.204). The sample revealed a diverse hemodynamic cardiovascular response to acute laboratory challenge (mental arithmetic test). Self-reporting of stress task has no physiological activity in the CVR-stress assessment. Race was ,Itsignificant precursor for heightened reactivity (P < 0.05; systolic reactivity). Chinese students are more reactive to mental arithmetic task than Malays that may put them at higher risk to get future CVD than Malay students. Year of study was significant precursor for reporting variation in reporting level of academic stress (P < 0.005; mean score = 1.29 ±.41). The difference was reported by' the second year of study which seemed to be more stressed academically than other course years. The academic stress is generated mainly by lack of.motivation to achieve higher performance. The present study explicates a modulatory comparison between reporting the level of academic stress and the cartliovascular reactivity to laboratory induced stress. It delineates a method for a reliable correlation between physiological findings and self-reporting one. When comparing both pathways, academic stress did not have association with the magnitude of general stress response among the investigated sample. This may conftrm the psychological assessment in having low level of stress in academic life. Collating the association between academic performance and stress may elevate the awareness about how to robust achievement by coping and interfering With the seven reported stressors (domains of SALS). Predicting the racial susceptibility of future HT will increase the awareness and ameliorate the overall perception about cardiovascular disease.
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Pharmacy Students , Reactivity Experiment
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