IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i7p3779-d530309.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploration of Factors Affecting Post-Secondary Students’ Stress and Academic Success: Application of the Socio-Ecological Model for Health Promotion

Author

Listed:
  • Konrad T. Lisnyj

    (Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada)

  • David L. Pearl

    (Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada)

  • Jennifer E. McWhirter

    (Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada)

  • Andrew Papadopoulos

    (Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada)

Abstract

Overview: There has been an increase in the frequency and severity of stress experienced by Canadian post-secondary students, which has adverse implications on their academic success. This work applied the socio-ecological model for health promotion to explore the contextual factors that influence this relationship at the individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and public policy levels. Methods: Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, we conducted 38 semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students and on-campus staff who provide services to this population at a post-secondary institution in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Thematic analysis inductively identified overarching themes among participants’ perspectives. Results: Several positive and negative factors were identified at each socio-ecological model level, demonstrating the complex interplay of demographic, psychological, emotional, social, physical, and academic factors impacting students’ academic stress. Conclusions: A lack of communication and knowledge seems to underlie many factors, highlighting the need to strengthen communication strategies to promote awareness, accessibility, and availability of services and programs on campus. Results also pointed to focusing on proactive, resilience-focused, upstream mental health promotion efforts at post-secondary institutions to reduce stress and improve academic success. This knowledge can help Canadian campuses better address students’ needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Konrad T. Lisnyj & David L. Pearl & Jennifer E. McWhirter & Andrew Papadopoulos, 2021. "Exploration of Factors Affecting Post-Secondary Students’ Stress and Academic Success: Application of the Socio-Ecological Model for Health Promotion," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-21, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:7:p:3779-:d:530309
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3779/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3779/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eisenberg Daniel & Golberstein Ezra & Hunt Justin B, 2009. "Mental Health and Academic Success in College," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-37, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nadia Nandlall & Lisa D. Hawke & Em Hayes & Karleigh Darnay & Mardi Daley & Jacqueline Relihan & Joanna Henderson, 2022. "Learning Through a Pandemic: Youth Experiences With Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    2. Sarah Baird & Jacobus de Hoop & Berk Özler, 2013. "Income Shocks and Adolescent Mental Health," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(2), pages 370-403.
    3. Joanne M. Williams & Jillian Bradfield & Andrew Gardiner & Patricia Pendry & Laura Wauthier, 2024. "Co-Producing Paws on Campus: A Psychoeducational Dog-Facilitated Programme for University Students Experiencing Mental Health Difficulties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(8), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Ertan Yörük, Ceren & Yörük, Barış K., 2012. "The impact of drinking on psychological well-being: Evidence from minimum drinking age laws in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(10), pages 1844-1854.
    5. Megan E. Beerse & Theresa Van Lith & Gregg D. Stanwood, 2019. "Is There a Biofeedback Response to Art Therapy? A Technology-Assisted Approach for Reducing Anxiety and Stress in College Students," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, May.
    6. Arulsamy, Karen & Delaney, Liam, 2022. "The impact of automatic enrolment on the mental health gap in pension participation: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. Miller, Rebecca & Blakeslee, Jennifer & Ison, Chanel, 2020. "Exploring college student identity among young people with foster care histories and mental health challenges," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    8. Mehic, Adrian & Olofsson, Charlotta, 2021. "Get Rich or Fail Your Exam Tryin': Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Spillover Effects of Blended Learning," Working Papers 2021:8, Lund University, Department of Economics, revised 16 Oct 2022.
    9. Anger, Silke & Christoph, Bernhard & Galkiewicz, Agata & Margaryan, Shushanik & Peter, Frauke & Sandner, Malte & Siedler, Thomas, 2024. "War, international spillovers, and adolescents: Evidence from Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 181-193.
    10. Valerie Halstead & Jessica R Williams & Rosa Gonzalez‐Guarda, 2017. "Sexual violence in the college population: a systematic review of disclosure and campus resources and services," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(15-16), pages 2137-2153, August.
    11. Clotilde Mahé & Philipp Hessel, 2022. "School-age exposure to conditional cash transfers and adult mental health: Evidence from Mexico’s Progresa," Documentos de trabajo 20155, Escuela de Gobierno - Universidad de los Andes.
    12. Mushonga, Dawnsha R. & Henneberger, Angela K., 2024. "The Black-White paradox of mental health in college students," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    13. Mallory Avery & Jessica LaVoice, 2023. "The effect of “failed” community mental health centers on non‐white mortality," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 1362-1393, June.
    14. Maria Kryza-Lacombe & Elise Tanzini & Sarah O’Neill, 2019. "Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives: Associations with Academic Achievement and Negative Emotional States Among Urban College Students," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(5), pages 1323-1341, June.
    15. Wang, Yue & Ma, Yue, 2024. "The Impact of healthcare service program on the mental health of migrant children in eastern China: Evidence from a cluster-randomized controlled trial," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343823, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Dong Yang & Usaporn Swekwi & Xiao Dai & Chia Ching Tu, 2022. "Potential Implications of Optimism and Mental Health for the Independent Learning of Chinese University Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-12, August.
    17. Oreopoulos, Philip & Petronijevic, Uros & Logel, Christine & Beattie, Graham, 2020. "Improving non-academic student outcomes using online and text-message coaching," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 342-360.
    18. Ezra Golberstein & Daniel Eisenberg & Marilyn F. Downs, 2016. "Spillover Effects in Health Service Use: Evidence From Mental Health Care Using First‐Year College Housing Assignments," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 40-55, January.
    19. Collins, Matthew & Lundstedt, Jonas, 2024. "The effects of more informative grading on student outcomes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 514-549.
    20. César Merino-Soto & Manuel Fernández-Arata & Jaime Fuentes-Balderrama & Guillermo M. Chans & Filiberto Toledano-Toledano, 2022. "Research Perceived Competency Scale: A New Psychometric Adaptation for University Students’ Research Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:7:p:3779-:d:530309. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.