stress management literature review essays

Advertisement

A Systematic Narrative Review on Stress-Management Interventions for Medical Students

• Published: 16 May 2020
• Volume 11 , pages 2055–2066, ( 2020 )

Cite this article

• Chiara Buizza   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3339-3539 1 ,
• Valentina Ciavarra 1 &
• Alberto Ghilardi 1  

1166 Accesses

7 Citations

Explore all metrics

The objectives of this study are to identify all studies for stress-management carried out in medical students, in order to analyze their impact on psychological distress and on academic performance, and to assess how these interventions are incorporated into the medical education curriculum. For this purpose, a systematic narrative review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.

A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo, using the following keywords: “stress” AND (“intervention” OR “treatment”) AND (“college” OR “university”) AND “medical” AND “student.” The quality of study was assessed using the Cochrane quality assessment tool and the Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies.

Seventeen studies were included in the review: 3 randomized controlled trials and 14 non-randomized. The results have identified different stress-management interventions, mainly focused on mindfulness programs. Most studies were also carried out on the pre-clinical students in the first 2 years. Results showed that students who attended stress-management interventions had a decrease in their stress level; conversely, the data concerning the decrease in depression scores were contrasting.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that stress-management programs may be helpful for medical students, but further studies are needed to assess a broader range of outcomes, including the correlation of stress-reduction with academic and health conditions.

Trial Registration

Prospective Registering of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). Identifier: CRD42019130789.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Perceived stress, stressors, and coping strategies among nursing students in the Middle East and North Africa: an overview of systematic reviews

Sonia Chaabane, Karima Chaabna, … Sohaila Cheema

Effectiveness of training programs based on mindfulness in reducing psychological distress and promoting well-being in medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Claudia Cardoso Gomes da Silva, Cláudia Vicari Bolognani, … Aline Mizusaki Imoto

Mindfulness-based intervention helps preclinical medical students to contain stress, maintain mindfulness and improve academic success

Luisa Charlotte Lampe & Brigitte Müller-Hilke

References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the review.

Aktekin, M., Karaman, T., Senol, Y. Y., Erdem, S., Erengin, H., & Akaydin, M. (2001). Anxiety, depression and stressful life events among medical students: A prospective study in Antalya Turkey. Medical Education, 35 (1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1946/j,1365-2923.2001.00726.x .

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Arora, A., Kannan, S., Gowri, S., Choudhary, S., Sudarasanan, S., & Khosla, P. P. (2016). Substance abuse amongst the medical graduate students in a developing country. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 143 (1), 101–103. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-5916.178617 .

Ayala, E. E., Roseman, D., Winseman, J. S., & Mason, H. R. C. (2017). Prevalence, perceptions, and consequences of substance use in medical students. Medical Education Online, 22 (1), 1392824. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2017.1392824 .

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Blake, H., Stanulewicz, N., & Mcgill, F. (2017). Predictors of physical activity and barriers to exercise in nursing and medical students. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73 (4), 917–929. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13181 .

*Bond, A.R., Mason, H.F., Lemaster, C.M., Shaw, S.E., Mullin, C.S., Holick, E.A., & Saper, R.B. (2013). Embodied health: The effects of a mind-body course for medical students. Medical Education Online , 30 (18), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v18i0.20699

Article   Google Scholar  

Brazeau, C. M., Shanafelt, T., Durning, S. J., Massie, F. S., Eacker, A., Moutier, C., Satele, D. V., Sloan, J. A., & Dyrbye, L. N. (2014). Distress among matriculating medical students relative to the general population. Academic Medicine, 89 (11), 1520–1525. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000482 .

*Brennan, J., McGrady, A., Lynch, D.J., Schaefer, P., & Whearty, K. (2016). A stress management program for higher risk medical students: Preliminary findings. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback , 41 (3), 301-305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-016-9333-1

*Bughi, S.A., Sumcad, J., & Bughi, S. (2006). Effects of brief behavioral intervention program in managing stress in medical students from two southern California universities. Medical Education Online , 11 (1), 4593. https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v11i.4593

Chew-Graham, C. A., Rogers, A., & Yassin, N. (2003). “I wouldn’t want it on my CV or their records”: Medical students’ experiences of help-seeking for mental health problems. Medical Education, 37 , 873–880. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2923.2003.01627.x .

Dahlin, M., Joneborg, N., & Runeson, B. (2005). Stress and depression among medical students: A cross-sectional study. Medical Education, 39 (6), 594–604. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02176.x .

*Dayalan, H., Subramanian, S., & Elango, T. (2010). Psychological well-being in medical students during exam stress-influence of short-term practice of mind sound technology. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences , 64 (11), 501-507. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5359.102122

*Dhanvijay, A.D., & Chandan, L. (2018). Effect of Nadi Shuddhi pranayama on perceived stress and cardiovascular autonomic functions in 1st year undergraduate medical students. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology , 8 (6), 898-902. https://doi.org/10.5455/njppp.2018.8.0205515022018

Drybye, L. N., Thomas, M. R., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2006). Systematic review of depression, anxiety, and other indicators of psychological distress among US and Canadian medical students. Academic Medicine, 8 (4), 354–373. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200604000-00009 .

Dubé, T. V., Schinke, R. J., Strasser, R., Couper, I., & Lightfoot, N. E. (2015). Transition processes through a longitudinal integrated clerkship: A qualitative study of medical students’ experiences. Medical Education, 49 (10), 1028–1037. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12797 .

Fang, L., Xu, X., Lin, X., Chen, Y., Zheng, F., Bei, Y., Zhang, L., & Zhang, B. (2019). Association of mobile phone overuse with sleep disorder and unhealthy eating behaviors in college students of a medical university in Guangzhou. Nan Fang Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao, 39 (12), 1500–1505. https://doi.org/10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2019.12.16 .

*Finkelstein, C., Brownstein, A., Scott, C., & Lan, Y. (2007). Anxiety and stress reduction in medical education; Medical Education , 41 , 258-264. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2007.02685.x

Garland, E., Gaylord, S., & Park, J. (2009). The role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal. Explore, 5 (1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2008.10.001 .

Gaufberg, E. H., Batalden, M., Sands, R., & Bell, S. K. (2010). The hidden curriculum: what can we learn from third-year medical student narrative reflections? Academic Medicine, 85 (11), 1709–1716. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181f57899 .

*Gruzelier, J., Levy, J., Don Henderson, J.W., & Don Henderson, D. (2001). Self-hypnosis and exam stress: Comparing immune and relaxation-related imagery for influences on immunity, health and mood. Contemporary Hypnosis , 18 (2), 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1002/ch.221

Haglund, M. E., aan het Rot, M., Cooper, N. S., Nestadt, P. S., Muller, D., Southwick, S. M., & Charney, D. S. (2009). Resilience in the third year of medical school: A prospective study of the associations between stressful events occurring during clinical rotations and student well-being. Academic Medicine, 84 (2), 258–268. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e31819381b1 .

*Hassed, C., de Lisle, S., Sullivan, G., & Pier, C. (2009). Enhancing the health of medical students: Outcomes of an integrated mindfulness and lifestyle program. Health Sciences Education , 14 , 387-398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-008-9125-3

Henning, M. A., Krägeloh, C. U., Hawken, S. J., Zhao, Y., & Doherty, I. (2012). The quality of life of medical students studying in New Zealand: A comparison with nonmedical students and a general population reference group. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 24 (4), 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2012.715261 .

Higgins, J. P., Altman, D. G., Gøtzsche, P. C., Jüni, P., Moher, D., Oxman, A. D., Savovic, J., Schulz, K. F., Weeks, L., Sterne, J. A., & Cochrane Statistical Methods Group. (2011). The Cochrane collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials. British Medical Journal, 18 (343), d5928. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d5928 .

Hope, V., & Henderson, M. (2014). Medical student depression, anxiety and distress outside North America: A systematic review. Medical Education, 48 (10), 963–979. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12512 .

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1982). An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness mediation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry, 4 , 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-8343(82)90026-3 .

Kushwaha, R., Rauniar, G. P., Koirala, B., & Mandal, N. K. (2019). Prevalence of substance use among undergraduate students in a medical college of Nepal. Journal of Nepal Medical Association, 57 (219), 315–319. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.4605 .

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6 (7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097 .

Moss, F., & McManus, I. C. (1992). The anxieties of new clinical students. Medical Education, 26 (1), 17–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.1992.tb00116.x .

*Phang, C.K., Mukhtar, F., Ibrahim, N., Keng, S.L., & Sidik, S.M. (2015). Effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention program for stress management among medical students: The Mindful Gym randomized controlled study. Health Sciences Education , 20 , 1115-1134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-015-9591-3

*Phang, C.K., Chiang, K.C., Ng, L.O., Keng, S.L., & Oei, T.P.S. (2016). Effects of brief group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for stress reduction among medical students in a Malaysian university. Mindfulness , 7 , 189-197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0399-2

Popay, J., Roberts, H., Sowden, A., Petticrew, M., Arai, L., Britten, N., Rodgers, M., Roen, K., & Duffy, S. (2006). Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews. In A product from the ESRC Methods Programme . Lancaster: Institute of Health Research.

*Prasad, L., Varrey, A., & Sisti, G. (2016). Medical students’ stress levels and sense of well-being after six weeks of yoga and meditation. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine , 9251849. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9251849

Prince, K. J. A. H., Boshuizen, H. P. A., van der Vleuten, C. P. M., & Scherpbier, A. J. J. A. (2005). Students opinions about their preparation for clinical practice. Medical Education, 39 , 704–712. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02207.x .

Puthran, R., Zhang, M. W. B., Tam, W. M., & Ho, R. C. (2016). Prevalence of depression amongst medical students: A meta-analysis. Medical Education, 50 , 456–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12962 .

Rapaport, M. H., Clary, C., Fayyad, R., & Endicott, J. (2005). Quality of life impairment in depressive and anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162 , 1171–1178. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.6.1171 .

Regehr, C., Glancy, D., & Pitts, A. (2013). Interventions to reduce stress in university students: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148 (1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.026 .

Regehr, C., Glancy, D., Pitts, A., & LeBlanc, V. (2014). Interventions to reduce the consequences of stress in physicians: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 202 (5), 353–359. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000130 .

*Rosenzweig, S., Reibel, D.K., Greeson, J.M., Brainard, G.C., & Hojat, M. (2003). Mindfulness-based stress reduction lowers psychological distress in medical students. Teaching and Learning in Medicine , 15 (2), 88-92. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328015TLM1502_03

Rotenstein, L. S., Ramos, M. A., Torre, M., Segal, J. B., Peluso, M. J., Guille, C., Sen, S., & Mata, D. A. (2016). Prevalence of depression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among medical students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of American Medical Association, 316 (21), 2214–2236. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.17324 .

*Scholz, M., Neumann, C., Wild, K., Garreis, F., Hammer, C.M., Ropohl, A., Paulsen, F., & Burger, P.H. (2016). Teaching to relax: Development of a program to potentiate stress-results of a feasibility study with medical undergraduate students. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback , 41 (3), 275-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-015-9327-4

Schwenk, T. L., Davis, L., & Wimsatt, L. A. (2010). Depression, stigma, and suicidal ideation in medical students. Journal of the American Medical Association, 304 (11), 1181–1190. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328015TLM1502_03 .

*Shapiro, S.L., Schwartz, G.E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of Behavioral Medicine , 21 (6), 581-599.

Shapiro, S. L., Shapiro, D. E., & Schwartz, G. E. (2000). Stress management in medical education: A review of the literature. Academic Medicine, 75 (7), 748–759. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200007000-00023 .

Shiralkar, M. T., Harris, T. B., Eddins-Folensbee, F. F., & Coverdale, J. H. (2013). A systematic review of stress-management programs for medical students. Academic Psychiatry, 37 (3), 158–164. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.12010003 .

*Simard, A.A., & Henry, M. (2009). Impact of a short yoga intervention on medical students’ health: A pilot study. Medical Teacher , 31 , 950-952. https://doi.org/10.3109/01421590902874063

Slim, K., Nini, E., Forestier, D., Kwiatkowsky, F., Panis, Y., & Chipponi, J. (2003). Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS): Development and validation of a new instrument. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 73 (9), 712–716. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1445-2197.2003.02748.x .

*Warnecke, E., Quinn, S., Ogden, K., Towle, N., & Nelson, M.R. (2011). A randomised controlled trial of the effects of mindfulness practice on medical student stress levels. Medical Education , 45 , 381-388. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03877.x

*Whitehouse, W.G., Dinges, D.F., Orne, E.C., Keller, S.E., Bates, B.L., Bauer, N.K., Morahan, P., Haupt, B.A., Carlin, M.M, Bloom, P.B., Zaugg, L., & Orne, M.T. (1996). Psychosocial and immune effects of self-hypnosis training for stress management throughout the first semester of medical school. Psychosomatic Medicine , 58 (3), 249-263.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, V.le Europa 11, Cap, 25123, Brescia, Italy

Chiara Buizza, Valentina Ciavarra & Alberto Ghilardi

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

CB and AG had the idea for the article. CB and VC performed the literature search and data analysis, and drafted the work. AG drafted the work and critically revised it.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chiara Buizza .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Buizza, C., Ciavarra, V. & Ghilardi, A. A Systematic Narrative Review on Stress-Management Interventions for Medical Students. Mindfulness 11 , 2055–2066 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01399-2

Download citation

Published : 16 May 2020

Issue Date : September 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01399-2

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Stress-management
• Interventions
• Medical students
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• v.8(Spec Iss 4); 2015

A review of the effectiveness of stress management skills training on academic vitality and psychological well-being of college students

P alborzkouh.

* Exceptional Children Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Iran

** General Psychology, Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Iran

*** General Psychology, Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty, Paradise University, Gillan Branch, Iran

**** General Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

F Shahgholy Ghahfarokhi

***** Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch Branch, Isfahan, Iran

Objective: Carrying out the appropriate psychological interventions to improve vitality and mental well-being is critical. The study was carried out to review the effectiveness of stress management training on the academic life and mental well-being of the students of Shahed University.

Methodology: The method used was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest plan and control group. Therefore, a total of 40 students of Shahed University of Tehran were selected by a convenience sampling method and were organized into two groups: experimental and control group. Both groups were pretested by using an academic vitality inventory and an 84-question psychological well-being inventory. Then, the experimental group received stress management skills training for ten sessions, and the control group did not receive any intervention. Next, both groups were post-tested, and the data were analyzed with SPSS-21 software by using descriptive and inferential statistical methods.

Findings: The findings showed that the stress management skills training significantly contributed to promoting the academic vitality and psychological well-being of students (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: It was concluded from this research that teaching the methods for dealing with stress was an effective strategy to help students exposed to high stress and pressure, and this was due to its high efficiency, especially when it was held in groups, had a small cost, and it was accepted by the individuals.

Introduction

Challenges during education create sources of stress for students, and put their health at risk, in a way that affects their learning abilities [ 1 ]. Therefore, paying attention to the factors that could have a positive impact on the agreeableness and could increase the positive psychological states, and as a result, the physical and psychological health of the students was of great importance.

Among the important factors that affect people’s ability to adapt to the stresses of studying era is academic vitality [ 2 ]. Academic vitality means an adaptive response to various challenges and barriers experienced during education [ 3 ]. When a person does things spontaneously, does not feel not only frustrated and tired, but also constantly feels the strength and increased energy, and overall has a sense of inner vitality [ 2 ]. Therefore, the academic life has a relationship with the individual’s adaptation to the various situations of the academic period, feelings of self-efficacy and empowerment in the face of challenges, experiencing less anxiety and depression, a sense of responsibility in dealing with the academic tasks and better academic success [ 3 ]. Despite the high importance of academic vitality in the successful confrontation with the challenging academic period, the literature review of the studies managed in Iran showed that few studies were performed on the factors promoting this important variable. Therefore, an attempt to address this research gap increased the need for the current study.

Another important positive psychological state in students is the psychological well-being. The psychological well-being factor is defined as a person’s real talents growth and has six components that are the purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy, and environmental mastery [ 4 ]. The purpose in life means having a purpose and direction in life and pursuing them [ 5 ]. Positive relations with the others mean having warm, satisfactory relations along with confidence and empathy [ 6 ]. Personal growth means having a sense of continuous growth and the capacity for it and having an increased sense of efficacy and wisdom [ 4 ]. Self-acceptance means having a positive attitude towards oneself and accepting the various aspects of oneself [ 6 ]. Autonomy means the feeling of self-determination, independence, and self-assessment against personal criteria [ 4 ]. Moreover, environmental mastery means a sense of competence and the ability to manage the complex environment around [ 5 ].

However, one of the most significant parts affecting the psychological health and well-being of individuals is life skills training [ 7 ]. Life skills’ training is critical for students, in a way that on this basis, many universities have started to teach life skills and stress management skills to improve the physical and psychological health of their students in the recent years [ 8 ]. The main objective of the World Health Organization regarding the creation of a life skills plan is in the field of psychological health. Therefore, different societies throughout the world try to promote the implementation and evaluation of the programs training in life skills. It focuses on the growth of mental abilities such as problem-solving, coping with emotions, self-awareness, social harmony, and stress management among children, teenagers, and even adults [ 9 ]. From the life skills, training in stress management skills is critical, because students need to deal effectively with stressful issues and factors. Accordingly, it was thought that teaching stress management skills is very efficient in improving the students’ positive psychological states, in particular, their vitality and mental well-being. Therefore, this study examined the effectiveness of the stress management skills training on the academic life and psychological well-being among Shahed University students.

Methodology

The study was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest. The analytical community of the study included all the students of Shahed University of Tehran in the fall of 2015, who were selected with a convenience method. For the calculation of the sample size, the appropriate sample size in experimental studies was of 15 people for each group [ 10 ]. At first, the sample size of 15 individuals was selected for each group. Then, to increase the statistical power and to manage the possible decrease in the number of participants, the sample size of 20 individuals (n = 20) was considered for each group. The sampling was voluntary non-random from among all the students studying at Shahed University. The inclusion criteria included an informed consent and the willingness to participate in the research, the ability to take part in the sessions and to collaborate in carrying out assignments, willingness to cooperate in completing the instruments, and the age range of 18 to 35 years. The exclusion criteria included the lack of desire to participate in the sessions and the absence to more than three courses in the preparation method, the lack of the ability to participate in the sessions, lack of cooperation in carrying out assignments, and receiving any training or psychological therapy that was not part of the program of this research.

The procedure of the study was that from all the students studying at Shahed University, a number was non-randomly and voluntarily selected, and if they met the inclusion criteria, they were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental and control. At the beginning and before starting the study, an informed consent was obtained from all of them to uphold moral considerations, through informing them of the aim of the study and the impact of such studies in improving their psychological status. Then, all the information of the participants were collected, and they were assured that the information would remain confidential by the researcher. Then, the experimental group received group stress management training for ten sessions, and the control group did not receive any intervention. In the end, both groups were post-tested. The protocol of stress management training sessions is presented in Table 1 .

Protocol of stress management skills training sessions

The instruments used in the study included a demographic sample page, an academic vitality questionnaire, and a psychological well-being scale (PWBS-18).

Demographic sample page: The demographic sample page included age, gender, educational level, and marital status. The sample page was prepared and evaluated by the researchers of the study.

Academic vitality questionnaire: This questionnaire was developed by Dehqanizadeh MH, Hosseinchari M (2012) [ 3 ], based on the academic vitality scale of Martin AJ, Marsh HW (2006) [ 15 ], which had four items. After various implementations of the items of the questionnaire, the final version was rewritten, and the result was that the revised version had ten items. Then the items above were again examined in a preliminary study on a sample including 186 high school students, who were chosen by using a cluster random sampling, and their psychometric properties were examined. The results of the examination showed that the obtained Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, by removing [ 3 ] item number 8, was 0.80 and the retest coefficient was 0.73. Also, the range of correlation of the elements with the total score was between 0.51 and 0.68. These results indicated that the items had a satisfactory internal consistency and stability.

Psychological well-being scale (SPWB): Riffe’s mental well-being scale [ 11 ] was made up of 84 questions in Likert’s 7-degree scale (from “strongly disagree” to “agree strongly”). It was a self-report questionnaire, which measured six components of the psychological well-being, including purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy, and environmental mastery. The internal consistency coefficients for the components of this questionnaire were obtained from 0.83 to 0.91. In Mohammadpour and Joshanloo research (2014) [ 6 ], the reliability coefficient of this scale with Cronbach’s alpha method for the psychological well-being scale obtained was 0.81. Also, for the subscales of the test including self-compliance, environmental mastery, personal growth and development, link with others, the goal in life, and self-acceptance were obtained at 0.60, 0.64, 0.54, 0.58, 0.65, and 0.61, respectively. A study performed by Kafka and Kozma (2002) was conducted to verify the validity of the items of the Riffe’s psychological well-being scale. The findings showed that there was a high correlation between this scale and the subjective well-being scale (SWB) and the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). In the present study, the reliability coefficient with Cronbach’s alpha method for the psychological well-being scale obtained was 0.81. Also, for the subscales of the test, including self-compliance, environmental mastery, personal growth and development, relations with others, the goal in life, and self-acceptance were obtained at 0.60, 0.64, 0.54, 0.58, 0.65, and 0.61, respectively.

The SPSS-20 software was used for data analysis. The statistical method used for the data analysis of the research on the level of descriptive statistics was mean, standard deviation, frequency, and frequency percentage indexes, and on the inferential statistics, univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance model were used.

Findings of the research

The demographic properties of the sample present in the study are presented in Table 2 .

Demographic characteristics of the subjects

As presented in Table 1 , the largest frequency of participation belonged to the participants in the age range of 21 to 25 with 14 individuals (35%) and the lowest frequency of individuals in the range of 18 to 20 years, with six individuals (15%). In addition, the mean age of the participants was 24.85, and the standard deviation was 4.41. The other information about the demographic properties of the present sample is provided in Table 2

As shown in Table 3 , the mean scores of purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental mastery, total score of psychological well-being, and academic vitality of posttest were increased in the test group as associated with the control group.

Descriptive stats of academic vitality and psychological well-being scores of the two groups divided by the pretest and posttest

As shown in Table 4 , the null hypothesis of the equality of variances of the two groups in the academic vitality and psychological well-being with all its components was confirmed. It meant that the variances of the two clusters in the population were equal and had no significant difference for the academic vitality and the psychological well-being variable with all its components. Thus, given the compliance with the Levene assumption, the analysis of covariance of the results of the hypothesis of the research were permitted.

Results of Levene test for the examination of the consistency of variances of academic vitality and psychological well-being variables with its components in the posttest stage

As shown in Table 5 , the significance level of all the tests (p < 0.001) indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups at least in one of the dependent variables (academic vitality and psychological well-being with its components). And, according to the eta square, 0.89 percent of the differences observed among individuals were associated with the effect of the independent variable, which was the intervention method (stress management skills training). On the other hand, given that the statistical power was 0.95, which was higher than 0.80, the sample size was acceptable for the research. The results related to significant differences in any of the dependent variables are listed below.

Results of multivariate analysis of covariance on the scores of posttest with the control of pretest in the academic vitality and psychological well-being variable with its components

According to Table 6 , the significance level was p < 0.001, the hypothesis of the difference between the academic vitality and the psychological well-being with its components in the two groups was confirmed. It stated that 0.54, 0.25, 0.52, 0.64, 0.60, 0.59, 0.45 and 0.81 percent change in the academic vitality, individuals’ purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental mastery, and psychological well-being scores were due to the independent variable (stress management skills training). Therefore, it could be said that stress management skills training increased the academic vitality and the psychological well-being and all of its components.

The results of multivariate analysis of covariance to assess the impact of stress management skills training on the level of psychological well-being and its components in the posttest stage

Discussion and conclusions

Given the aim of this study, which was to examine the effectiveness of stress management skills training on the academic vitality and psychological well-being of the students of Shahed University, the results of the univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance showed that stress management skills training had a significant impact on increasing the academic vitality and psychological well-being. The findings indicated that the stress management skills training had a major impact on increasing the academic life. It was consistent with different studies of Habibi M (2015), Pakdaman A, Ganji K, Ahmadzadeh M (2012), Shirbim Z, Sudani M, Shafi-Abadi A (2008) [ 12 - 14 ].

In explaining their similar finding, Pakdaman A, Ganji K, Ahmadzadeh M (2012) [ 13 ] also stated that life skills training helped in the improvement of the academic conditions of the subjects. In addition, this was because of this training, with growing different skills of the students, helping the students know their strengths and weaknesses, and overall, help the individuals move from weaknesses and skill deficits to capable and strong skills. Therefore, this could provide the students with better educational conditions [ 14 ]. In explaining their similar finding, Shafi-Abadi (2008) stated that teaching life skills, including stress management skills, are one of the ways to improve the mental health of the individuals of the community and to prevent harms. In fact, these teachings protected the health and mental hygiene of the society and protected it against diseases, disabilities, and disturbances in human relations. As a result, the feeling of security and solidarity increased among the members of the society, and then their senses of happiness, vitality, and health increased.

The findings showed that stress management skills’ training has a significant impact on the psychological well-being. It was consistent with the multiple studies of Qadiri-Bahramabadi F, Mikaeli-Manee F (2015), Qanbari N, Habibi M, Shams-Aldini S (2013), Alavi-Arjmand N, Kashaninia Z, Hosseini MA, Reza-Soltani P (2012), Chubforushzadeh A, Kalantari M, Molavi H (2009) [ 16 - 19 ].

In explaining their similar findings, Qadiri-Bahramabadi F, Mikaeli-Manee F (2015) [ 16 ] stated that facing numerous stresses required teaching and learning of appropriate stress management skills. In other words, during stress, individuals must know the necessary coping skills to reduce the effects of stress, and if the pressure was managed and the effective coping skills were applied, the person would be able to get along better with the needs and challenges of his/ her life. Therefore, the intervention of stress management led to the formation of good feelings about oneself, as well as a positive performance in the stable world. It created interest and motivation in people’s lives as well as increasing the self-confidence of the individuals. As a result, it increased the psychological well-being.

In explaining their similar finding, Qanbari N, Habibi M, Shams-Aldini S (2013) [ 17 ] stated that with the help of multiple strategies to manage stress such as relaxation, and muscular relaxation, stress and anxiety could be reduced. The individuals identified the somatic symptoms, and with mastering the ways to acquire relaxation, which was inconsistent with stress, reduced their anxiety and unpleasant feelings, thus increasing the psychological well-being. Also, in explaining their similar finding, Chubforushzadeh A, Kalantari M, Molavi H (2009) [ 19 ], stated that stress management treatments make multiple changes in the individual’s beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. Therefore, improving the individual’s evaluations and coping skills, and the provided practices to integrate the learned separations with real life situations could lead to a decrease in the perceived stress and an increase in the psychological well-being.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the venerable authorities of Shahed University of Tehran for their assistance. Also, the authors would like to thank all the participants in the study.

The Study of Human Behavior and Stress Essay (Literature Review)

Introduction.

The study of human behavior has been in existence for many centuries but has only gained prominence in recent times. This can mostly be attributed to popularization by the media especially in the West. Psychologists and behavioral profilers have been gathering valuable data pertaining to the reasons behind any behavior exhibited by different people.

They have managed to do this by using psychological theories formulated to facilitate further understanding of how the brain works in forming behaviors. As such, psychology can be described as a field of study that studies behavior. In this study, an analysis of five articles shall be provided. An explanation of why the topics of these articles are related to psychology shall also be offered.

Article one

The article “Sleep May Be Nature’s Time Management Tool” by Benedict Carey sets out to provide a discussion as to the role that sleep plays in the lives of human beings and animals.

The author states that no one really knows why sleep exists therefore setting the context for the article in which she advances the numerous theories that are advanced as to the role that sleep plays. The central theme advanced by the article is that the ultimate role of sleep may indeed be time management.

Structure wise, this article is well formatted as the author begins by giving a brief overview on sleep and the ambiguity with which its role is viewed by members of the society thus laying a proper foundation for the main discussion of the paper.

The author then proposes the role of sleep and subsequently proceeds to discuss and support the claims that she makes by quoting authoritative figures in sleep research e.g. Dr. Diegel who is a head chief neurobiologist.

In this article the author takes care to provide concrete evidence for the claims that she makes. For example, when advancing her main argument about sleep being nature’s own time management too, the author reinforces her assertions by presenting the theories of authorities in psychiatry and psychology who also are of the opinion that sleep optimizes animals’ use of time.

However, I feel that the author provided only the bare minimum information on the other theories on the role of sleep thus presenting the reader with only to one side of the coin. In my opinion, the paper would have been more informative if it had briefly discussed the other theories so as to enable the reader to critically evaluate their validity for himself

Article two

In today’s world, television is almost invariably a part of our lives and trying to keep away from this prominent force is for many people an uphill task. The article “Why We Tuned Out” by Karen Springen as appearing in the NewsWeek on November 11, 2002 attempts to illustrate that shielding one’s children from television is not only possible but comes along with numerous benefits.

The main point advanced by Springen is that shielding children from television results in the children being more physically and mentally active. The author also contends that the children do not risk turning into misfits as a result of abstinence from television programs. I agree with these assertions by the author that television watching is detrimental to the development of children and limiting the same will result in creative and physically active children.

In her article, Springen credits the lack of television watching for her daughters’ inquisitive and energetic nature. She goes on to illustrate that according to research, “kids who watch more than 10 hours of TV each week are more likely to be overweight, aggressive and slow to learn in school.”

From these research findings, Springen justifies her imposition of a no television rule to her daughters so as to prevent them from assimilating these negative behaviors which are attributed to exposure to television. Despite these convictions, the author goes on to note that a complete restriction on television watching may result in her children missing out on good educational programming.

However, the author proceeds to note that most children who watch television do not engage in the “educational programming” but rather favor cartoons, adventure stories and other programming which has little educational value if any. As such, Springen affirms that missing out on television all together is better than gambling on the very limited likelihood that children will watch something educational on TV.

The second issue that Springen tackles is the alleged likelihood of her children turning into social outcasts as a result of her “puritanical approach” with regards to television. This is a fear that is accentuated by one psychiatrist who quips that “it’s awful to be different from the other kids in fourth grade.” Springen dispels of this fears by pointing out that her children continue to enjoy products based on TV characters despite their not watching television since there exist other avenues such as books and magazines through which the children can be informed of popular culture.

The author also highlights the fact that her children do not mention missing out on any of the popular programming even though they do interact with other children at school who undoubtedly mention the shows. As such, it is plausible that Springen’s children are not at a risk of turning into outcasts due to her restriction on their television watching habits. The author goes on to suggest that she may be forced to let them watch some shows which have a special meaning to the children.

Different articles on stress

Article three.

The article, “The Physical, Mental, Emotional and Behavioral effects of Stress” by Heather Tripp has as its central idea the expression of various adverse effects of stress not only on the mind but on the body as well. The author goes on to explicitly outline the physical, mental, emotional and behavioral effects that stress can have on a person.

She also attributes the escalation of some conditions e.g. blood pressure and heart diseases to stress. The article further focuses on stress reduction and recommends various remedies to deal with stress related disorders. Tripp’s article shows a bias towards the physical manifestation of stress as is expressed through her outline of effects.

Article four

In the article, “The Effects of Stress on Mental Health” by Paul Hata, the mental effects that stress can manifest in a person are seen to be the major underpinning for the article. Hata highlights on the mental breakdown tendencies that are as a result of stress.

He goes on to define mental breakdown as the loss in interest or ability to function normally by a person due to mental pressure exerted on them. This can be seen to be the article’s central focus since the author shows a particular bias to the mental effects of the condition while only vaguely alluding to the other effects.

Article five

The third article entitled “Stress management” by the mayo clinical staff offers a more educational albeit concise reading on stress. The article has at its core the need for a person to take action thereby gain control over stress in his/her life.

The article explains what stress is and goes on to articulate that stress is actually the body’s inbuilt alarm system and not its enemy as most people assume. The article focuses on ways in which one can identify and subsequently cope with stress thus highlighting control over stress as the major concept in the article.

The articles by Mayo clinic staff and Tripp attribute the long-term exposure to stress as being disruptive to most of the body’s process. As such many health problems including: high blood pressure, heart attacks, digestive problems and obesity are seen to have as their root cause stress. Both articles therefore emphasis on the need to adopt less stressful lifestyles so as to ensure physical well being of a person.

While the articles do not come up with a unified set of strategies as to how to deal with stress, they all agree on the need to deal with stress. The respective authors progress to offer tips and suggestions on how to reduce stress levels. A health diet and proper sleep patterns are common tips agreed on by the three articles.

The fostering of relationships is also highlighted as one of the means to deal with or altogether prevent stress. This rationale stems from the fact that man is a social creature and each encounter with others can yield to fruitful results. In cases where the stress is too progressed, professional counseling is seen as the key to offset this state and restore normality to the person.

Psychological perspectives in the analyzed articles

As mentioned earlier, psychology is a matter of studying behaviors. Therefore, for any issue to qualify as a psychological topic it must contain clear variables (fixed and dependent) and theoretical backing that explains the connection between the variables, as well as how they affect each other. In regards to the first article ( Sleep May Be Nature’s Time Management Tool ), the author tries to establish the connection that exists between sleep and time management.

The second article (Why We Tuned Out), the author explains the effects of television to the physical and psychological development of children. In the last three articles, the authors try to show how stress affects various aspects of our lives. Conclusively, the presence of these attributes in all five articles is what makes the issues discussed psychological.

Works Cited

Carey, B. Sleep May Be Nature’s Time Management Tool . 2009. Web.

Hata. The Effects of Stress on Mental Health . 2008. Web.

Mayo Clinic Staff. Stress management . 2009. Web.

Springen, K. Why We Tuned Out . 2002. Web.

Tripp, H. The Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Effects of Stress . 2009. Web.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, August 25). The Study of Human Behavior and Stress. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analyze-psychology-aritcles/

"The Study of Human Behavior and Stress." IvyPanda , 25 Aug. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/analyze-psychology-aritcles/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'The Study of Human Behavior and Stress'. 25 August.

IvyPanda . 2022. "The Study of Human Behavior and Stress." August 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analyze-psychology-aritcles/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Study of Human Behavior and Stress." August 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analyze-psychology-aritcles/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Study of Human Behavior and Stress." August 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analyze-psychology-aritcles/.

• Karen Springen's "Why We Tuned Out"
• "Tripp Lake" by Lauren Slater
• Critical Incident Analysis in Teaching
• Missing you maintains us
• Is HTML a Programming Language?
• Ten Programming Languages
• Reality TV Genre in Australian Television Programming
• Sleep Stages and Disorders
• How TV Affects Kids
• Sleep and Dreams: How Do They Work?
• Connection Between Substance Abuse and Personality
• The Theory of Human Change and Growth
• Family Versus Individual Therapy
• Compare and Contrast Child Developmental Theories
• Issue Analysis: Pro-social Behavior