INTRODUCTION
According to WHO, Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way we respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to our overall well-being.
It has physical and emotional effects and can create positive or negative influence on us. As a positive influence, stress can help to compel us for action. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distress, rejection, anger, and depression, which
in turn can lead to health problems.
College students are exposed to a considerable amount of stress, which necessitate successful and constantly changing coping strategy. These stressors include internal and external pressures exerted by the environment to thrive and succeed, overcome economic hardships, worries about vague futures, societal problems and opportunities.
AIM & OBJECTIVES
Assessment of the Stress level in students studying in degree colleges with the help of application of the Perceived Stress Scale.
MATERIAL & METHODLOGY
A Short term- Cross sectional study- Close ended survey was performed on students studying in degree colleges.
The study was offline with the help of tool Perceived Stress Scale (A screening tool to detect the stress level).
It was taken for a period of 7 days (survey & analysis).
PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a classic stress assessment instrument. The tool, while originally developed by Cohen et al in 1983, remains a popular choice for helping us understand how different situations affect our feelings and our perceived
stress.
Consider the idea that two individuals could have the exact same events and experiences in their lives for the past month. Depending on their perception, total score could put one of those individuals in the low stress category and the total score
could put the second person in the high stress category.
INTERPRETATION AND SCORE
PSS Scale can determine the PSS score by following these directions.
First, reverse the scores for questions 4, 5, 7, and 8. On these 4 questions, change the scores like this: 0 = 4, 1 = 3, 2 = 2, 3 = 1, 4 = 0.
Now add up the scores for each item to get a total.
Individual scores on the PSS can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.
► Scores ranging from 0-13 = Low stress.
► Scores ranging from 14-26 = Moderate stress.
► Scores ranging from 27-40 = High perceived stress.
RESULT
There were 117 participants in this survey, in which 74 (63.24%) were female and 43 (36.75%) were males. There were 75 (64%) students from outside Jaipur and 42 (35.8%) from Jaipur.
After the assessment we found 14 (11.96%) Low stress students , Moderate stress students 85 (72.64%) and High stress of students 18 (15.38%). By age, 64 students were found in the age group of 11-20 and 53 students in the age group of 21-30 .
CONCLUSIONS
As per the Perceived Stress Scale assessment , We found the prominent level of Moderate Stress in the age group of 11-20 years and it was highest in females.
AUTHORS
Dr Deepika Shishodia, PGR, MD (Hom.), Dept. Of Psychiatry
Dr Swarupananda Sarkar, MD (Hom), Associate Professor, Dept. Of Psychiatry
Swasthya Kalyan Homoeopathic Medical College & Research Centre, Jaipur.
