Background/Purpose Previous research literature indicates college students have been known to develop chronic stress due to academic pressures (MacGeorge, Samter, & Gillihan, 2005). During exam stress, students are at a higher risk of engaging in coping activities, including caffeine consumption (Oaten & Cheng, 2005). The purpose of the study was to establish if the participants reported patterns of caffeine consumption and if that was altered by changes in academic stress.
Method After obtaining IRB approval, a convenient, cluster sample was used to select 182 undergraduate students enrolled in activity classes at the University of Arkansas. Ages were 18 and older, with a total of 83 males and 99 females involved in the study. A likert-scale survey was used to determine the participants' reporting of academic stress, caffeine frequency, and caffeine amount.
Analysis/Results Surveys were placed in a high and low stress score category based on a numerical cut-off point. An independent samples t-test was calculated to see if there was significance between the total Caffeine Frequency Scores of Stress group 1 (low stress) and Stress group 2 (high stress) and also between the total Caffeine Amount Scores of Stress group 1 and Stress group 2. A p value of ≤ .05 was considered significant. The researchers found statistical significance between the frequency of caffeine consumption, stress, and the amount of caffeine consumption and stress.
Conclusions The results correlated with similar studies on caffeine consumption, and a creation of university awareness programs on caffeine consumption are recommended for traditional, academically-pressing times.