Correlates of Stress in College Students Using the ACHA Sample

Learner Objective: To identifying predisposing and enabling factors associated with college students' stress in order to plan and implement stress-reduction interventions. Purpose: To describe the self-rated stress levels in college students and associations between stress and demographic characteristics, aerobic exercise levels and body mass index category (BMI). Methods: A geographically representative sample of male (n = 7,955) and female (n = 18,107) college students (21.5 + 5.8 yrs) completed the 2008 American College Health Association survey. For this study, questions on demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, years in school, hours worked, disability conditions, etc.), stress, aerobic exercise participation and height and weight were used for analysis. Proportions of respondents with different levels of stress were calculated, and ordinal logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with high stress. Results: Only 1.6% of respondents reported “no stress” within last 12 months whereas over 50% reported “more than average stress”. Subgroups with higher probabilities of reporting high stress levels included females, Non-Hispanic Whites, those not meeting physical activity recommendations for aerobic exercise, overweight or obese individuals, non-freshmen, full-time students, transfer students, those in a relationship and living together, married or divorced students, those working 20+ hours per week, those without health insurance, those with very high or low grade point averages (e.g., A or D and below), nonparticipants in college athletics, and finally, those with disabilities or medical conditions. Conclusions: A large proportion of surveyed college students had high self-rated stress levels. Stress-reduction interventions at colleges should focus on students who are recognized as having high stress levels.