Stress among Shanghai university students: The need for social work support

Abstract

Summary: College stress and psychological well-being have been widely recognized in the academic literature. The present study describes the relationship between college stress, coping strategy and psychological well-being. A quantitative approach has been undertaken to evaluate the differences among 342 students in six universities in Shanghai. Differences of college stress, psychological well-being and coping strategy with reference to gender, year of study, etc., have been explored in turn. Findings: The study has proved that psychological well-being has a negative relationship with college stress and positive coping strategies have significant buffering effects on psychological health problems. Male students reported higher level of stress, worse psychological well-being, and having less inclination towards using positive coping strategies. Students studying in Science subjects scored higher in personal hassle. Students from private colleges reported highest level of academic hassle while Year 2 students had the highest level of stress and lowest level of psychological well-being compared to students studying in other years. Applications: Efficient coping strategies should be cultivated within the different college cohorts in various situations. Intervention should be given to the high-risk college students groups. School social workers shall play an important role in cultivating proper coping strategies to future college students. © 2009 Sage Publications: Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC.