Introduction

Many things which disturb the students during student life. Many students belong to
middle families and they cannot afford all demands which a student wants.
Demands are those in student life we can say life goes to end for fulfilling the needs
and demands. Students do their best efforts to fulfill demands. When the student is
unable to do so stress occurs.
Stress thus refers to a condition of perceived tension between demands and resources
during student life. When the student feels that he/she cannot meet the demands thrust
on Him/her, then he/she is stressed.
Stress is necessarily in the life of a student. A major anxiety that is affecting them is
how to achieve balance in life. Stress may be denied as a response brought about by
various external events (Selye, 1976) and can be viewed as a positive or negative
experience.
Fontana (1989) defines stress as a demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the
mind and the body. It is natural and healthy to maintain optimal levels of stress.
Success, achievement and effectiveness can be enhanced in the presence of an optimal
stress level. However, when stresses are left unchecked and unmanaged, they can
create problems in performance and affect the health and well-being of the organism
(Pareek, 1997).
Studies have shown that stress may result in problems such as hyper-irritability, sleep
disturbances and a wide range of somatic and psychological patterns detrimental to
the individual, and even have negative economic implications (Hafner, 1968; Strange
& Brown, 1970; Cooper & Marshall, 1976; Wolfe, 1986; Cooper & Cartwright, 1994)
College students have special academic, socio-psychological and financial concerns
that are typical in nature. These years tend to be a period of immense change and
adjustments in a young adult’s life. Students most often move away from their homes
and established support systems and face the prospect of developing new peer-based
support systems (Sheret al., 1996). In professional academic programs, they are faced
with the challenges of new intellectual rigors and academic demands that are quite
different from their earlier exposures.
Many professional courses place heavy demands on home finances and the students
often have to take recourse to loans. These factors are likely to contribute to distress
among a relatively large proportion of students, especially when coupled with the
uncertainty of future employment opportunities and a fear of not meeting parental and
social expectations. The young student finds himself in a situation where he has to
satisfy many roles – that of a good student academically, a good son or daughter
expected to respect family traditions and norms and possibly contribute financially in
future, a smart peer in tune with the times, and an active participant in student’s
activities. The different expectations and roles place many conflicting and even vague
demands on his personality.

Literature review

There have been a significant number of empirical studies that have investigated
stress amongst students in higher education. Within this group of studies, the research
focus has been on subject areas that have a strong vocational element such as: law
students (Clark & Rieker, 1986), medical students (Linn & Zeppa, 1984; Folse et al.,
1985; Firth, 1986; Lee & Graham, 2001; Daly & Willcock, 2002; Radcliffe & Lester,
2003), social work students (Tobin & Carson, 1994; Armeli & Tennen, 2004;
Dzieglelewski et al., 2004), hospitality students (Jogaratnam & Buchanan, 2004) and
nursing students (Beck & Srivastava, 1991; Johansson, 1991; Clarke & Ruffin, 1992;
Lo, 2002).
A second group of studies has focused on psychology students (Kohn et al., 1991;
Gadzella et al., 1998; McCarthy et al., 2001; Michie et al., 2001). It is not clear
however whether this focus indicates a belief that students opting for a vocational
course of study experience more stress than other students. it is possible to identify a
number of consistently reported stressors that contribute to the stress experienced by
students including; examinations, time demands and financial pressures (Aherne,
2001); changes in sleeping and eating habits, new responsibilities and an increased
workload (Ross et al., 1999); meeting new people, career decisions, fear of failure and
parental pressure (Schafer, 1996). However, while existing research largely indicates
A degree of universality in stressors affecting students, there is some evidence that
students from different backgrounds or cultures may cite different stressors. Chwee et
al. (1998) found that East Asian students (those from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan,
Korea, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam), reported
different stressors than those reported by 'home' students.
The most significant source of stress for some students is examinations, and the
subsequent wait for results (Abouserie, 1994). Scott (2000) suggests that on average
30% of students show debilitating signs of stress during exams, a level of stress that
can be exacerbated by being away from home and having less support (Baglin, 2003).
Exam stress can cause nausea, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, and stomach
pains in some students (Mechanic, 1978).
He also found that the majority of students experienced a reduction in stress once they
had started their first examination. This implies that it is the prospect of taking an
exam that causes stress rather than the exam itself, a contention that is supported by
Gadzella et al. (1998) who concluded from a study of undergraduate psychology
students that it is the anxiety associated with tests, rather than the test itself, which
creates physiological and emotional reactions to stress.
Changes in the funding of higher education, as mentioned previously, a significant
stressor for students is living with limited financial resources (Hickman, 1995).
Although the stress of financial uncertainty may be temporary, it can still have a
negative impact on individuals (Schafer, 1996).
In addition, having limitations on financial resources can increase the impact of
strains normally associated with studying (Earwaker, 1992; Foster, 1995). Whilst
Financial pressures themselves can cause stress, when present with other factors such
as mental illness, the effect can be magnified (Coxon, 2002).
To combat their lack of money, increasing numbers of students are taking part time
paid employment during their studies. According to The Student Living Report
(2004), 42% of students have a job to support themselves at university, working an
average of 14 hours per week. This need to work has added to what is, for some,
already a stressful situation, such that 59% of students reported that they feel more
stressed now, in comparison to their previous educational experiences.
The Report (2004) further suggests that students expect to finish university with
debts, on average, of 9341.
The main factor in student life is co-education in colleges and universities. This factor
also can effect the student life because combine study of male students and female
students can make stress for students and also increase the demand which a student
cannot fulfills by the scarcity of resources.
 FEDERAL URDU UNIVERSITY
OF ARTS, SCIENCE & TECHONOLGY,
ISLAMABAD

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

BBA-5th

Assignment Of
Research Methods for Business

Assignment Topic
Student life balance: myth or reality?
SUBMITTED BY

Muhammad Azam

Abdul Rauf

Bokhena Zafar

SUBMITTED TO

Ms Zuee Jawaira