A STUDY TO ASSESS DIFFERENCES IN STRESS LEVELS BETWEEN HOSTELLER AND NON-HOSTELLER UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Stress among university students has appeared as a critical concern in recent year due to its damaging impact on mental health and academic performance. Undergraduate students significantly experience stress and stress affect students` academic achievement. The prevalence of stress among undergraduate students is from 20.9% to 94.5%.

Objective: To explore the differences in stress levels between hosteller and non-hosteller undergraduate students of PUMHSW.

Material & Methods: A Comparative Cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 Undergraduate students 140 were hosteller while 140 were noon-hosteller at Peoples University of Medical and Health Science in Nawabshah. Students aged between 18-22 years who consented to participate were included and having any previous psychiatric history or history of drug abuse were excluded. Data were collected using a short version Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Frequencies, percentages, and Pearson correlation were applied to determine the associations.

Results: The mean age of participants was 21.48 ±1.67years. The majority of the participants 82.50%, were belongs to middle class. Among the participants 140 (50.0%) was hosteller and 140(50.0%) participants was non-hosteller. Accommodation status were significantly associated with stress levels (p-value .034). The majority of the participants had extremely sever stress 125(44.6%), whereas severe stress 68(24.3%), normal stress 44(15.7%), moderate stress 32(11.4%), and mild stress 11(3.9%).

Conclusion: The findings revealed that the majority of the participants experienced varying levels of stress, ranging from normal to extremely severe, non-hosteller experienced higher levels of stress compared to hosteller. Awareness sessions and positive relationships with family and friends can significantly reduce stress levels.