Students' school-related stress, psychological resilience, self-concordance and academic performance: Inputs to an enhanced welfare program

Abstract

This survey-correlational research aimed to determine the school-related stress, psychological resilience, self-concordance and academic performance among college students of a university in Guangxi Province, China, conducted from February 2024 to November 2024. There were 392 students selected using stratified random sampling by grade level. They were surveyed using a validated and reliability-tested a survey questionnaire composed of rating scales on psychological stress, resilience, and self-concordance. The collected data was processed using SPSS and statistical tools such as frequency count, percentages, mean, and standard deviations for descriptive data-analysis; t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson’s r for inferential analysis, set at .05 level of significance. The results showed that majority of the participants are female, rural residents, and with monthly family income of 5,001-10,000 yuan, and most of them are eldest in the family. Results showed a low level of school-related overall stress as a whole group and when grouped according to sex, place of residence, sibling rank, and average monthly family income. Their psychological, emotional, social, examination, and behavioral stresses were also found to be at a low level, except for the middle children who showed moderate level of examination stress. The students showed high level of overall psychological resilience as well as across the different dimensions, except for parental support/expectations where the results indicated moderate level of psychological resilience. Across groups in terms of sex, place of residence, sibling rank, and average monthly family income, students’ psychological resilience in terms of parental support was also moderate. The students’ level of self-concordance as a whole group and across sex, place of residence, sibling rank, and average monthly family income was moderate. Significant differences existed in the school-related stress among students when classified according to sibling rank, except for emotional stress. But when they were classified according to sex, place of residence, and average monthly family income, no significant results were found. Significant difference existed in the psychological resilience between the male and female students in terms of social support-friends, while their overall psychological resilience showed no significant difference. Similarly, no significant differences existed in their psychological resilience when classified according to place of residence, sibling rank, and average monthly family income. No significant differences in self-concordance, as well as academic existed among students when classified according to sex, place of residence, sibling rank, and average monthly family income. The students’ school-related stress has a significant and negative relationship with their level of psychological resilience and self-concordance, while psychological resilience was significantly and positively correlated to self-concordance.