1. INTRODUCTION:

The extent to which a student experiences stress depends on the personal characteristics of the student as well as his or her cognitive appraisal of the academic factors. It is found that two students subject to similar academic conditions experience different levels of stress. Student’s response to academic pressures is, therefore, influenced to a large extent by his inherent traits. The psychological makeup of the student, as well as his behavioural patterns, have been found to develop and promote stress. Stress originates when a student tries to perform at their level best but fails to do so due to some inadequacies and thus giving rise to several role stresses.

The college environment appears to be stressful for the students. This happens due to teaching methodology, overcrowded classrooms, competition, the type of relations with other students, and teachers.

In this backdrop, the purpose of the current study is to identify the factors causing stress at the individual level, ascertain the symptoms of stress found in the students and study the effects of stress and coping strategies adopted by the students of different Colleges of Kolkata.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW:

In a study conducted with a sample of 249 student participants, undergraduate university students were found to experience higher levels of stress due to academic commitments, financial pressures, and lack of time management skills. The students’ health, emotional state, and academic performance can be devastated when they negatively interpret the stressful context or when the stress level intensifies (Ranjita Misra and McKean, 2000). Azila-Gbettor, Atatsi, Danku, and Soglo (2015) have carried out a cross-sectional study on 275 business students in Ghana and found that academic factors (e.g., getting good grade, exam stress, inadequate educational materials and achieving academic goal), interpersonal and self-stressors (e.g., fear of failure, dealing with personal issue, and study skills), and social stressors (e.g., academic competition, and social support), teaching quality, relations with and support from teachers stressors (e.g., delaying in marking and feedback, accessing learning materials, understanding the expectation of teaching staff) and environmental, campus, administration and transition stressors (e.g., college transition and campus adjustment) are among the stress producing factors in the students. Sulaiman, Hassan, Sapian, and Abdullah (2009) found that female students have experienced higher level of stress compared to male students because they tend to be extra emotional and sensitive toward what is happening in their surroundings.

3. OBJECTIVE:

The main objective of the current study is to

· Identify the factors causing stress at the individual level

· Ascertain the symptoms of stress found in the students.

· Study the effects of stress and coping strategies adopted by students of different Colleges of Kolkata.

Factors Causing Stress at Individual Level:

At individual level, stress originates from:

Personality traits of an individual:

The inherent personal qualities of an individual have been found to give rise to stress. It has been observed that two students respond differently if exposed to a particular situation. This difference can be attributed to the difference in personalities. The following embedded characteristics can be identified to arouse stress in an individual:

Locus of control:

Individuals with an internal locus of control believe that they control their destiny, while those with an external locus of control believe that outside forces like luck or supernatural power influence their lives. Research revealed that employees with an external locus of control feel helpless, are more alienated from the work setting, and less involved in their job. Thus, they experience a higher degree of occupational stress and lower job satisfaction [Srivastava and Krishna (1992)].

Perception:

Individuals react in response to their perception of reality rather than reality itself. If an individual perceives a situation as stress potential, he feels stressed i.e., it depends on the individual’s cognitive patterns, i.e., thinking ability or understanding of a particular situation.

Self-efficacy:

It refers to an individual’s belief that he is capable of performing a task. It emphasizes that a self-confident employee or one having confidence in his own abilities experience lower level of stress.

Type-A personality:

An individual with a Type-A personality is “aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time, and if required to do so, against the opposing efforts of other things or other persons”.

Individuals possessing a Type-A personality experience a moderate to high level of stress. They work under hectic schedules consisting of continuous time pressures with high targets knocking at each hour. Type-A individuals perform better in job interviews due to the competence, aggressiveness, etc. Successful salespersons usually possess a Type-A personality.

According to Friedman and Rosenman (1974), “Type-A Behavioural Patterns” are the direct sources of occupational stress. They are aggressive, striving, highly competitive, highly hostile, hyper alert, and rapid pace in themselves causes stress, and they are prone to coronary heart disease. They may be resentful and suspicious of others and easily angered by people in their environment. They tend to ignore the feelings of others in their pursuit to achieve more and more.

Type-B personality: It is exactly the reversal of Type-A personality. Type-B is “rarely hurried by the desire to obtain a wildly increasing number of things or participate in an endless growing series of events in an ever-decreasing amount of time”.

Type-Bs win the crown because promotions in corporate and professional organizations “usually go to those who are wise rather than to those who are merely hasty, to those who are tactful rather than to those who are hostile, and to those who are creative rather than to those who are merely agile in competitive strife”.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The present study is exploratory and empirical. The study examines the factors causing stress, the consequences of stress, and the coping strategies adopted by the students. Moreover, available information on this context published in different journals, books, and websites is considered for the study as a secondary source.

The study is based on the primary data collected by interviewing a significant representative sample among students of different Colleges to find out the actual picture. In order to collect primary information from the students, a structured questionnaire is drafted initially, and a pilot survey is conducted to finalize it. The questionnaire is formed with the help of psychometric instruments like the Coping Strategies Scale (Srivastava and Singh, 1988).

The statistical analysis of data is done through the SPSS package. Descriptive statistical methods are used for the analysis of data. 150 students from different Colleges are interviewed in and around Kolkata.

5. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY:

Table 1: Frequency, Mean and S.D. of the Important Attributes Under the Personality Characteristics of the Respondents

Attributes	Frequency					Mean	S. D.
Attributes	1	2	3	4	5	Mean	S. D.
Tolerance	08	22	25	32	63	3.75	1.094
Patience	11	23	35	30	51	3.57	1.291
Flexibility	7	9	25	32	77	3.96	1.215
Anxiety level	12	24	35	35	44	3.88	1.343
Intra-psychic conflicts	13	29	32	39	37	3.97	1.220
Locus of control	46	32	33	27	12	2.41	1.331
Level of competitiveness	12	26	32	34	46	3.92	1.300
Takes Risk	45	26	22	36	21	3.82	1.463
Hurry	14	32	23	33	48	1.96	1.150

Regarding the varied personalities of the respondents, it is found that 42% showed a tolerant nature. High anxiety level is found among 29.33% of respondents. Students were mainly anxious of semester end examinations. They complained of a shortage of time to complete the syllabus. Moreover, very few classes are held in the Colleges in the ongoing semester system. This gives rise to anxiety levels of the students as they are unable to complete the syllabus by themselves without the guidance of the College professors. It is also revealed that 30.67% of the respondents possessed an internal locus of control. It is generally known that students with an internal locus of control are less influenced by external factors like luck, and thus, they experience a lower level of stress. A high level of competitiveness is observed among 30.67 % of the respondents, and 14% are risk takers. Again, 32% of the respondents are found “always in a hurry.”

The symptoms of stress are measured on a 5 -point Likert Summated Scale: 1 denotes ‘Never’, 2 denotes ‘Occasionally’, 3 denotes ‘Sometimes’, 4 denotes ‘Quite Often’ and 5 denotes ‘Almost Constantly’.

Table 2: Frequency, Mean, and S.D. of the Important Attributes under the Physical Symptoms of the Respondents

Attributes	Frequency					Mean	S. D.
Attributes	1	2	3	4	5	Mean	S. D.
Tension on muscles	55	23	35	26	11	2.59	1.478
Headache	46	36	22	23	23	2.95	1.581
Gastric trouble	23	15	32	22	58	2.55	1.580
Back pain	29	11	26	32	52	2.75	1.653
Sleeplessness	33	24	21	14	58	1.39	0.874
Obesity	46	39	24	27	14	2.23	1.449
Migraine	32	27	22	24	45	1.19	0.774
Visionary problem	26	32	24	31	37	1.59	0.993

Regarding the physical symptoms of stress, it is found that 23.33% of the respondents sometimes suffer from tension on muscles, 15.33% of the respondents regularly suffer from headaches, 38.67% of the respondents regularly suffer from gastric trouble, 34.67% of the respondents suffer from severe back pain almost everyday. Unhealthy food habits among the students are responsible for gastric trouble. Moreover, students who attend Colleges travelling two hours by local trains everyday suffer from gastric problems due to irregular meal intakes. 38.67 % of the respondents regularly suffer from sleeplessness, and 30% of the respondents suffer from migraine. Overuse and addiction to mobile phones are the main causes of sleeplessness. Many students reported that they chat with their friends at night. Lack of sleep gives rise to headaches during the daytime, and thus, chronic headaches are causing migraines among students.

Table 3: Frequency, Mean, and S.D. of the Important Attributes under the Psychological Symptoms of the Respondents.

Attributes	Frequency					Mean	S. D.
Attributes	1	2	3	4	5	Mean	S. D.
Worried about future job opportunities	8	23	28	36	55	2.2	1.708
Feelings of tiredness	12	21	33	44	40	3.67	1.293
Loss of interest in activities	27	33	28	41	21	2.65	1.038
Frustration	56	26	36	21	11	2.07	1.329
Low enthusiasms	12	27	39	26	46	2.74	1.132
Temper outburst	22	11	36	7	74	3.54	1.433

Regarding the psychological symptoms of stress, the table shows that 36.67% of the respondents are worried about their job opportunities regularly. Most of the students are not focused on their future careers. They are unaware of future job opportunities in their chosen field of study. 26.67% of the respondents experience feelings of tiredness daily. Among the respondents, it is found that 7.33% suffer from frustration almost always, 30.67% suffer from low enthusiasm, and 49.33% regularly exhibit temper outbursts. There is a lack of enthusiasm among students to learn something new. Few students are eager to participate in College seminars and different cultural programmes. Mobile addiction has given rise to restlessness and temper outbursts among students.

Table 4: Frequency, Mean, and S.D. of the Important Attributes under the Behavioural Symptoms of the Respondents.

Attributes	Frequency					Mean	S. D.
Attributes	1	2	3	4	5	Mean	S. D.
Adaptability	25	31	15	36	43	4.29	0.979
Increased intake of alcohol	15	23	43	33	36	1.61	1.149
Increased smoking	21	26	55	32	16	2.04	1.573
Feeling of loneliness	11	27	57	31	24	2.64	1.431

Among the behavioural symptoms of stress, it is revealed from the table that 28.67% of the respondents show a high level of adaptability to any situation, and 24% of the students regularly consume alcohol. This is an alarming situation. 10.67% of the respondents smoke regularly, and 38% of the respondents sometimes suffer from loneliness.

Coping Strategies have been measured on a 5-point scale where 1- denotes ‘Never’, 2 denotes ‘Rarely’, 3 denotes ‘Sometime’, 4 denotes ‘Quite often’, and 5 denotes ‘Almost Always’. Respondents adopt coping strategies after they face a stressful situation. It includes factors like devoting more time and energy to meet the demand of the situation, discussing with others who could help to solve the problem, physically withdrawing from the situation temporarily, developing a hobby to cope with stress, etc.

Table 5: Some Important Characters of Coping Strategies adopted by the Respondents.

Characters	Mean	S. D
Deal with the problem with more time and energy	4.12	1.075
Discuss with others	4.48	0.939
Physically withdraw from the situation	2.56	1.356
React aggressively to those responsible	3.37	1.259
Develops a hobby to cope with stress	4.77	0.653

From the above table, it is found that respondents quite often adopt coping strategies like devoting more time and energy to deal with the problem, discussing with others who could help to solve the problem, and developing a hobby to cope with stress. Sometimes they react aggressively to those who are responsible, and they rarely physically withdraw from the problematic situation. Students have been found to possess various hobbies like reading books, singing, playing cricket, football, carom, gardening, practicing philosophy, gossiping, writing stories, social work, annual touring, watching movies, and walking. Sleeping also helps to combat the stress of the students.

6. CONCLUSIONS:

The important conclusions can be summarised as follows:

· High anxiety level is found among 29.33% of respondents. Students were mainly anxious about semester-end examinations. They complained of a shortage of time to complete the syllabus.

· 38.67% of the respondents regularly suffer from gastric trouble, and 34.67% of the respondents suffer from severe back pain almost every day. Unhealthy food habits among the students are responsible for gastric trouble. Moreover, students who attend Colleges travelling two hours by local trains suffer from gastric problems due to irregular meal intakes regularly.

· 38.67 % of the respondents regularly suffer from sleeplessness, and 30% of the respondents regularly suffer from migraine. Overuse and addiction to mobile phones are the main causes of sleeplessness. Many students reported that they chat with their friends at night. Lack of sleep is giving rise to headaches during the daytime, and thus, chronic headaches are causing migraines among the students.

· 36.67% of the respondents are regularly worried about their job opportunities. Most of the students are not focused on their future careers. They are unaware of future job opportunities in their chosen field of study.

· 30.67% of students suffer from low enthusiasm, and 49.33% regularly exhibit temper outbursts. There is a lack of enthusiasm among students to learn something new. Few students are eager to participate in College seminars and different cultural programmes. Mobile addiction has given rise to restlessness and temper outbursts among students.

· Among the behavioural symptoms of stress, it is revealed that 28.67% of the respondents show a high level of adaptability to any situation, and 24% of the students regularly consume alcohol. This is an alarming situation. 10.67% of the respondents smoke regularly, and 38% of the respondents sometimes suffer from loneliness.

7. SUGGESTIONS:

· Students should include some time in their daily schedule for pursuing a hobby, which is very crucial for their well -being.

· Music helps to release stress. Hence, practising singing or listening to music can combat stress among students.

· Restricted use of mobile phones is the need of the hour. To retain their concentration for studies, students should use mobile phones only for necessity.

· Exercise de-stresses students through the release of endorphins in the body and thereby acts as an excellent energizer.

· At present, specialized counselling delves into the psyche of the students, analyses their problems, and assists them to perform better and thus, helping them to get rid of stress.

· One should find out their own definition of success because the concept of success varies from one person to the other. Only after understanding what success means to him, should he strive to achieve his goal. According to American author Christopher Morley, “There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way”. Hence, students should choose a career that will be personally fulfilling.

· Apart from studies, one should follow a healthy routine, recreational activities, and have a support system of friends. Thus, life outside College will help to combat stress.

· One should recognize the things over which one has control and the things one cannot control. Thus, one should stop stressing about the things over which one has no control.

8. REFERENCES:

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4. Friedman, M. and Rosenman, R. Type A Behaviour and Your heart, New York, Knoof. 1974

5. Misra, R., and Mckean, M. College students' academic stress and its relation to their anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction. American Journal of Health Studies. 2000; 16(1): 41-51.

6. Ross, S. E., Niebling, B. C., and Heckert, T. M. Sources of Stress among College Students College Student Journal. 1999; 33

7. Srivastava, A. K. and Krishna, A. Moderating effect of locus of control on relationship of occupational stress and job tension. Journal of Psychological Researches. 1992; 36: 53-58.

8. Sulaiman, T., Hassan, A., Sapian, M. V., and Abdullah, S. K. The level of stress among students in urban and rural secondary schools in Malaysia. European Journal of Social Sciences. 2009; 10(2): 179-184.

9. Walton, L. R. A Comparison of Perceived Stress Levels and Coping Styles of Junior and Senior Students in Nursing and Social Work Programs (Thesis). Marshall University. 2002

Received on 23.05.2025 Revised on 26.06.2025

Accepted on 29.07.2025 Published on 07.11.2025

Available online from November 17, 2025

Asian Journal of Management. 2025;16(4):306-310.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5763.2025.00046

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Creative Commons License.