Stress and the College Student

Chapter Overview • Stressors facing younger college students • HIV/AIDS • Stressors facing older college students • Stress and minority college students • Interventions © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Stressors Facing Younger College Students • Lifestyle change • Achieving emotional independence from family • Choosing and preparing for a career • Preparing for emotional commitment and family life • Developing an ethical system • Grades • Many students are more concerned about grades than about what they are learning • Course overload • Taking on too many classes can lead to illness, hostile emotions, insufficient time for friends, less learning, and ultimately poor grades © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Stressors Facing Younger College Students (cont.) • Finances • Tuition and books, living expenses, credit cards • Giving up or changing friendships • New intimate relationships (love) • Erotic love • Ludic love • Storgic love • Manic love • Sex © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Did You Know? • In 2007-2008, annual tuition and other expenses at a four-year private college averaged $35,374 and at a four-year public college, $17,336 • From 1993 to 2004, graduating seniors’ student loans more than doubled 10 $19,200 • One fourth of graduating student borrowers carried more than $25,000 in student loan debt © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

HIV/AIDS • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) • Virus that causes AIDS • Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) • Progressive HIV infection that reduces the effectiveness of the immune system • By 2005, 550,394 Americans had died of AIDS There is no known cure for AIDS © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Transmission of HIV/AIDS • Bodily fluids such as blood and semen • High-risk groups include: • Intravenous drug users • Infants born to HIV-infected mothers • Participants in unprotected sexual activities © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Prevention of HIV/AIDS • Abstain from sexual activities • Maintain a monogamous relationship • Use proper protection if you choose to become sexually active • Abstain from intravenous drug use © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Other STIs • Sexually transmitted infections • Chlamydia • Gonorrhea • Syphilis • Genital herpes • Human papillomavirus • Pelvic inflammatory infection • Trichomoniasis • Vaginosis • Hepatitis B • Genital warts © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

The Older College Student • Enrollment of older college students is expected to further increase • They experience same stressors as younger college students • They also experience unique stressors in areas of: • Career and school • Family and school • Self-doubt © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Interventions • Life-situation interventions: • Attend stress-management workshops • Learn to manage finances • Make new friends by joining clubs and participating in activities • Perception interventions • Overcome shyness by asking self-probing questions • Use selective awareness to focus on positive aspects of college © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Interventions (cont.) • Emotional arousal interventions • Practice relaxation techniques • Make it a priority to find the time • Physiological arousal interventions • Use exercise to burn up products of stress • Many exercise options are available on college campuses © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Stress and the College Student