Perceived stress and stress factor among sport science undergraduate: a cross-sectional study / Siti Nurjannah Abas ... [et al.]

University students experience stress at different stages of the semester caused by various stressors. The aim of this study is to compare the perceived stress at the beginning, middle and end of the semester and to compare the stress factor at the beginning, middle and end of the semester. A total of 252 participants (begin semester), 169 participants (middle semester) and 267 participants (end semester) from Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation, Universiti Teknologi MARA Perlis Branch were recruited for this study. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Stress Factor Questionnaire were used to measure perceived stress and stress factors. The results suggest that students experience stress, but at a moderate level, beginning semester (15.90 ± 2.956), middle semester (15.92 ± 3.025), and end semester (15.92 ± 3.104). There is a statistically non-significant difference between the perceived level at the beginning, middle and end of the semester as determined by one-way ANOVA (F(2, 685) = .002, p = .998). The majority of students reported that they do not get enough sleep (76.25%), have financial problems (68.2%) and the course load (59.85%) as stress factors. These findings proved that stress is a constant factor for students throughout the semester and that interventions to manage these stressors may be beneficial to student well-being. Future research can explore the effectiveness of stress reduction interventions and their implementation to promote student mental health.