Are extracurricular activities stress busters to enhance students’ well-being and academic performance? Evidence from a natural experiment

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasirumane Venkatesh Mukesh ◽  
Vrinda Acharya ◽  
Rajasekharan Pillai
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Academic Stress ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Natural Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe stress-coping model is extensively studied in the academic context. Past studies have primarily focused on different coping strategies adopted by students to overcome academic stress. However, an important question, how to equip students to cope with stress, was ignored. Drawing on stress-coping theory and the extracurricular activity (ECA) literature, the current study investigates the intervention of ECA participation on students’ coping, academic performance, and well-being in a natural setting.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows a “cross-sectional post-test only quasi-experimental design” using a natural experimental setting.FindingsThe findings indicate that participation in ECA has a significant influence on academic outcomes. Different types of ECA participation influence well-being, whereas time spent on ECA positively affects academic performance. Further, the findings also indicate that involvement in ECA moderates the relationship between academic stress and coping.Practical implicationsThe study results have practical implications for designing interventional ECA to enhance students’ academic outcomes and well-being.Originality/valueThe study indicates the effectiveness of ECA participation in dealing with academic stress and the development of constructive coping strategies. Hence, the authors advise the academic administrators to integrate ECA in the academic setting.

Influence of stress and coping strategies on undergraduate students' performance

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luqman Oyekunle Oyewobi ◽  
Gbolahan Bolarin ◽  
Naomi Temitope Oladosu ◽  
Richard Ajayi Jimoh
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Stress ◽  
Stress And Coping ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
University Administration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies ◽  
And Coping

PurposeThis study examined the causes of academic stress amongst undergraduate students in the Department of Quantity Surveying to ascertain whether stress has an influence on their academic performance.Design/methodology/approachThis research explores the relationships between these constructs: academic stress, non-academic stress, coping strategies and academic performance, using a survey questionnaire to collect data from 190 undergraduate students in the Quantity Survey department. Descriptive statistics have been used to analyse the data and a path analytical approach has been adopted to evaluate the relationship between the constructs discussed in the paper.FindingsSignificant linear associations have been established between all the proposed paths and the outcome factor (p < 0.00). Coping strategies were an important mediator (p = 0.000), as they explained 32.9% of the association between academic stress and non-academic stress. However, the findings have shown that the stress faced by students is an optimal degree of stress that improves learning capabilities.Practical implicationsExplanation and clarification of the effects of academic and non-academic stress and coping mechanisms on the academic performance of university undergraduate students could help to reduce the risk of suicide amongst the teeming youths. It will also afford the university administration the opportunity to engender stress-free environment that is conducive for learning through the formulation of appropriate policies that promote “balanced learning” for the students. The outcome of this study may provide a launch pad for researchers who are interested in knowing how the possible causes of stress may impact on the health of university students.Originality/valueThe findings will be of great importance to the academic advisers and university administration in developing a flexible academic calendar and adopt policies that will eliminate academic stress and promote strategies to cope with non-academic stress. The study is the first attempt to examine academic stress, non-academic stress, coping strategies and academic performance in a single research in the Nigerian context due to limited literature found. This study has pedagogical implications to education practice by offering tertiary institutions the opportunity to appraise and device a means of managing students' stress by identifying their needs and increase students' coping skills based on prevailing modalities that give students' opportunities to strengthen the strategies of coping.

Working in prehospital emergency contexts

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 469-482
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Oliveira ◽  
Félix Neto ◽  
Filipa Teixeira ◽  
Ângela Maia
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Ambulance Personnel ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Support Measures ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies ◽  
Health And Well Being

Purpose Ambulance personnel face a diversity of stressful events that could be potentially traumatic, putting their health and well-being at risk. The purpose of this paper is to explore, from this group perspective, sources of stress, coping strategies and support measures. Design/methodology/approach The authors interviewed 14 ambulance workers of Portuguese Red Cross local structures from the north of Portugal. Data were analyzed according to thematic analysis procedures. Findings The authors identified three themes: operational and organizational factors, control and predictability; anticipating scenarios, focusing on procedures and dealing with reactions; and from undervalued support to support as routine. Dealing with human lives, the unpredictability of calls and working under pressure are the main sources of stress, causing, in some of them, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and intrusive thoughts. Road accidents, situations involving children and cardiac arrest are the most distressing events. During events, they cope focusing on technical procedures, but after them they prefer to talk with colleagues and seek support from family and friends. All participants emphasize the inexistence of structured support measures. Practical implications It is important to develop support measures tailored to ambulance personnel’s needs, leading to enhancements of theirs work performance, health and well-being. Originality/value Contrarily to most of the studies that explore mostly PTSD and/or burnout, the authors explored, from the perspective of professionals, other dimensions such as sources of stress, coping strategies and support measures, adopting a qualitative approach, which has been rarely used.

scholarly journals Coping under pressure: Strategies for maintaining confidence amongst South African soccer coaches

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jhalukpreya Surujlal ◽  
Sheila Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
South African ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Coping Methods ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
Study Results ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Media Pressure

Sport coaching can be a fulfilling and rewarding occupation, but can also be stressful because of the demands and expectations of various external factors. The complex and extraordinary demands placed on coaches, force them to perform multiple roles (e.g. educator, motivator, counsellor, adviser, trainer, manager and administrator). Soccer coaches face a number of challenges, frustrations, conflicts and tensions, the enormity of which is often underestimated. This notion is supported by the description of coaching as a perilous occupation in which coaches experience pressures like stress, conflict and tension, media pressure and intrusions into family life. This study explored the perceptions of South African soccer coaches in terms of the mechanisms they use to cope with potential stressors experienced in their jobs and employed a non-experimental design, using a quantitative approach, to assess stress and coping strategies of South African coaches. One hundred and twelve soccer coaches, coaching at the provincial level and higher, completed a questionnaire on stress and stress coping mechanisms used in their coaching jobs. Descriptive data analysis was completed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS – version 16). The sources of stress experienced and coping methods used by the coaches were evaluated. Results revealed that the top three sources of stress were a lack of resources, fixture backlog and games where the outcome is critical, whilst the lowest three sources of stress were political interference, physical assaults from players and substituting a player. Moreover, various coping strategies used by the coaches showed that an average of 5.68%, 5.14% and 89.78% of the sample used maladaptive coping, emotion management coping and problem management coping strategies respectively. Academic and practical implications of the study results are discussed.OpsommingSport afrigting kan ’n baie vervullende en bevredigende beroepskeuse wees, maar as gevolg van die eise en verwagtinge van verskeie omgewings faktore, kan dit ook as ’n spanningsvolle beroep ervaar word. Afrigters moet verskeie rolle vertolk (o.a. opvoeder, motiveerder, sielkundige, adviseerder, afrigter, bestuurder en administrateur) wat deel uitmaak van die komplekse en buitengewone eise wat op hulle geplaas word. Sokker afrigters beleef ’n aantal uitdagings, konflik situasies, frustrasies en spanning waarvan die impak of waarde daarvan selde gemeet kan word. Afrigting as ’n konsep word beskryf of gedefinieer as ’n potensieel onveilige en/of wisselvallige beroep waar die meerderheid afrigters spanning ervaar, konflik beleef, media druk moet verwerk en ’n geweldige inbreuk op hul persoonlike en familielewe ervaar. Hierdie studie ondersoek Suid-Afrikaanse sokker afrigters se persepsies aangaande die meganismes wat hulle gebruik om die potensiële spanning van hul beroep te bestuur. Die studie is gebaseer op ’n nie-eksperimentele ontwerp met ’n kwantitatiewe benadering van Suid-Afrikaanse sokker afrigters om spanning te evalueer en te bestuur. Een honderd en twaalf sokker afrigters wat op provinsiale vlak of hoër afgerig het, het vraelyste ingevul aangaande spanning en spanning hanteringstegnieke wat in hul afrigtingsberoepe gebruik is. Beskrywende data analise is met behulp van ’n statistiese pakket in Sosiale Wetenskap (SPSS-weergawe 16) gedoen. Die oorsake van spanning asook die hanteringstegnieke wat deur die afrigters gebruik is, is geevalueer. Die resultate het bevind dat daar drie duidelike oorsake van spanning was, naamlik ’n tekort aan hulpbronne, die akkumulasie van geskeduleerde wedstryde asook wedstryde waarvan die uitslag krities is. Die drie laagste oorsake van spanning was onder andere politieke inmenging, fisiese aanranding deur spelers en die vervanging van spelers. Die afrigters het ’n verskeidenheid van spannings hanteringstegnieke gebruik, maar die resultate toon dat 5.68%, 5.14% en 89.78% van die eksperimentele groep oneffektiewe spannings-, emosionele- en probleem bestuurstegnieke geïmplementeer het. Akademiese en praktiese implikasies van die navorsingsresultate word bespreek.

An empirical study of the influence of individual-related factors on undergraduates' academic burnout: Malaysian context

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sook Cheng Lau ◽  
Hon Jie Chow ◽  
Siew Chin Wong ◽  
Chui Seong Lim
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Burnout ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perfectionism, self-efficacy, coping strategies and academic burnout among Malaysian undergraduates in higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 251 respondents who were public and private university undergraduates. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to investigate the influences of coping strategies, perfectionism and self-efficacy on academic burnout among undergraduates.FindingsThe results showed that all independent variables, namely coping strategies, perfectionism and self-efficacy are statistically correlated to academic burnout.Research limitations/implicationsThis article provides an empirical framework for explaining the academic burnout of undergraduates’ based on the review of related career works of literature.Practical implicationsTo provide insights in order to improve understanding of existing stress models and provide practical implications for local higher education institutions and undergraduates to reduce academic burnout.Social implicationsThe study seeks to enhance awareness and destigmatise the mental health issues of undergraduates, which is important to help them to maintain a healthy lifestyle and well-being.Originality/valueThis paper offers new insight to identify the predictors of academic burnout among undergraduates from Malaysian higher education institutions.

scholarly journals Correlates of social media fatigue and academic performance decrement

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqdas Malik ◽  
Amandeep Dhir ◽  
Puneet Kaur ◽  
Aditya Johri
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

PurposeThe current study aims to investigate if different measures related to online psychosocial well-being and online behavior correlate with social media fatigue.Design/methodology/approachTo understand the antecedents and consequences of social media fatigue, the stressor-strain-outcome (SSO) framework is applied. The study consists of two cross-sectional surveys that were organized with young-adult students. Study A was conducted with 1,398 WhatsApp users (aged 19 to 27 years), while Study B was organized with 472 WhatsApp users (aged 18 to 23 years).FindingsIntensity of social media use was the strongest predictor of social media fatigue. Online social comparison and self-disclosure were also significant predictors of social media fatigue. The findings also suggest that social media fatigue further contributes to a decrease in academic performance.Originality/valueThis study builds upon the limited yet growing body of literature on a theme highly relevant for scholars, practitioners as well as social media users. The current study focuses on examining different causes of social media fatigue induced through the use of a highly popular mobile instant messaging app, WhatsApp. The SSO framework is applied to explore and establish empirical links between stressors and social media fatigue.

Ethical consumers' brand avoidance

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Rindell ◽  
Tore Strandvik ◽  
Kristoffer Wilén
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Specific Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Ethical Consumers ◽  
Consumer Values ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical consumers' brand avoidance. The study contributes to brand-avoidance research by exploring what role consumers' ethical concerns play in their brand avoidance. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach is adopted by interviewing 15 active members of organizations that represent ethical concerns for the well-being of animals, the environment and humans. Findings – The study indicates that consumers with a strong value-based perspective on consumption (such as ethical consumers) may reject brands in two different but interrelated ways. In essence, the study reveals characteristics of brand avoidance that have not been discussed in earlier research, in terms of two dimensions: persistency (persistent vs temporary) and explicitness (explicit vs latent). Practical implications – The study shows the importance of considering the phenomenon of brand avoidance, as it may reveal fundamental challenges in the market. These challenges may relate to consumer values that have not been regarded as important or that have been thought of as relating only to a specific group of consumers. Originality/value – The ethical consumers' views represent new insights into understanding brand avoidance.

An exploratory study into organizational repatriates’ emotional support network

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lore Van Gorp ◽  
Smaranda Boroş ◽  
Piet Bracke ◽  
Peter A.J. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Support ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Informative Characteristic ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how repatriates’ emotional support network affects their experience of re-entry. Design/methodology/approach This inductive, qualitative study is based on 27 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Belgian organizational repatriates. Findings The analyses suggest that expatriation empathy is a key attribute of organizational repatriates’ main emotional support providers. In addition, the results show that although partners are a main source of emotional support on re-entry, they are also important potential causes of distress. Lastly, the results suggest that the cultural diversity of a repatriate’s emotional support network is linked with characteristics of the assignment and that it affects the experience of repatriation. Research limitations/implications The results provide empirical evidence that the expatriation empathy of repatriates’ support providers is a more informative characteristic to consider compared with whether they have personal experience of expatriation. In addition, the results suggest that research should also take into account the negative side of social support, and, for example, consider the influence of crossover distress of partners who experience relocation difficulties themselves. Practical implications This study points to the possible benefits of organizing social activities or training for repatriates and their partner and any children, as well as the advantages of encouraging expatriates to invite home-country friends to visit. Originality/value Although most scholars agree on the importance of support for expatriates’ well-being, the sources of relevant emotional support have received little research attention so far, as has how this influences the repatriation experience.

When I am old I shall wear purple: a qualitative study of the effect of group poetry sessions on the well-being of older adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Seymour ◽  
Michael Murray
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Assisted Living ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Poetry Reading ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose There is increasing evidence that participation in various art forms can be beneficial for health and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of participating in a poetry reading group on a group of older residents of an assisted living facility. Design/methodology/approach Six poetry sessions, each on a different theme, were conducted with a group of volunteer participants. These sessions, those of pre- and post-study focus groups and interviews with the group facilitator and staff contact were audio-recorded. The transcripts of the recordings were then subjected to a thematic analysis. Findings Overall the participants were enthused by the opportunity to participate in the project and the benefits were confirmed by the support staff. In addition, reading poetry on particular themes promoted different types of discussion. Research limitations/implications The number of participants in this study was small and the study was conducted over a short period of time. Practical implications This paper confirms the impact of poetry reading for older people. The challenge is to explore this impact in more detail and over community as well as residential settings. Originality/value This paper is the first empirical report on the value of poetry reading for older people.

Perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers during COVID-19: a mediated moderated roles of teleworking and resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vartika Kapoor ◽  
Jaya Yadav ◽  
Lata Bajpai ◽  
Shalini Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Working Mothers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe present study examines the mediating role of teleworking and the moderating role of resilience in explaining the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers in India. Conservation of resource theory (COR) is taken to support the present study.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 326 respondents has been collected from working mothers in various sectors of Delhi NCR region of India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity, and SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used for testing the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study found an inverse association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Teleworking acted as a partial mediator and resilience proved to be a significant moderator for teleworking-well-being relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based at Delhi NCR of India, and future studies may be based on a diverse population within the country to generalize the findings in different cultural and industrial contexts. The present work is based only on the psychological well-being of the working mothers, it can be extended to study the organizational stress for both the genders and other demographic variables.Practical implicationsThe study extends the research on perceived stress and teleworking by empirically testing the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being in the presence of teleworking as a mediating variable. The findings suggest some practical implications for HR managers and OD Practitioners. The organizations must develop a plan to support working mothers by providing flexible working hours and arranging online stress management programs for them.Originality/valueAlthough teleworking is studied previously, there is a scarcity of research examining the impact of teleworking on psychological well-being of working mothers in Asian context. It would help in understanding the process that how teleworking has been stressful for working mothers and also deliberate the role of resilience in the relationship between teleworking and psychological well-being due to perceived stress, as it seems a ray of hope in new normal work situations.

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