ACADEMIC STRESS AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS: AN EXAMINATION OF ITS CONSEQUENCES

Abstract

While the causes of academic stress have received considerable attention, its consequences for the well-being and functioning of senior secondary students are equally significant and warrant systematic examination. The present study investigated the consequences of academic stress along two broad fronts: its effect on the psychological and physical health of students, and its effect on their academic performance and social-behavioural functioning. A descriptive and correlational survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 300 senior secondary students through a standardised academic-stress measure together with scales assessing anxiety, depressive affect, psychosomatic symptoms, and behavioural indicators, along with records of academic achievement. Results revealed strong positive correlations between academic stress and anxiety, depressive affect, and the frequency of psychosomatic complaints such as headache, sleep disturbance, and fatigue. Academic stress was negatively correlated with academic achievement, and students in the high-stress group performed significantly worse than those in the low-stress group. Stress was also associated with social withdrawal, irritability, reduced concentration, and procrastination. The findings demonstrate that unmanaged academic stress functions as a self-defeating cycle that undermines the very performance it is intended to protect, and they underline the urgent need for school-based mental-health support and stress-management programmes.