A Study on Academic Stress and Coping Strategies of Medical and Engineering Colleges’ Students in Semi Urban Area Tumkur

Stress is a common concern in competitive world. It affects mental, emotional and cognitive process while dealing with the stressful situations. The present study was conducted to find the level of stress and coping strategies of Medical and Engineering students in Tumkur District, a semi-urban area of Karnataka. This study consisted of a sample of 388 Engineering and Medical students. The method of convenience sampling was used to select the sample. Student Stress Scale (Akthar, 2011) and Coping check List (Rao & Subbakrishna, 1989) were used to collect the data from respondents. The obtained data were analyzed using t-test and Correlation. Medical students experience more stress and adopt more coping strategies than engineering students. The study found significant gender difference in stress and coping strategies among medical and engineering students. Strategies used and applied by both the genders are completely different. Male students used problem-focused coping strategies; female students used Emotion-focused coping strategies. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between stress and coping strategies.

Stress, Coping Strategies, Medical and Engineering Students

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