Rebekah Clay
Rebekah Clay |
| Rebekah Clay
Department of Biology Title of Presentation: Exploring the relationships between academic stress and blood pressure in undergraduate students Stress is a major cause of illnesses such as migraines, ulcers, backache, and rheumatoid arthritis. Individuals who experience high levels of stress tend to engage in unhealthy behaviors compared to those who experience low levels of stress. Although stress has been associated with high blood pressure in previous research, the relationship between academic stress and elevated blood pressure has not been studied extensively. Using three surveys and blood pressure measurements, I analyzed whether or not there was a measurable relationship between academic stress and blood pressure level. The Academic Stress Scale, Student Stress Scale, and Background Information Sheet were the three surveys that I used to obtain stress scores and mediating factors. After recruiting 115 students for the study, the scores, mediating factors from the surveys, and blood pressure data were analyzed to examine whether or not there was a correlation between academic stress and blood pressure levels. Unexpectedly, diastolic and systolic blood pressures were not strongly correlated with stress as measured by the self-report surveys. This thesis describes possible explanations for how a perceived level of stress (academic stress) and a physiological indicator of stress (blood pressure) showed few relationships. Future studies examining the impact of chronic academic stress and hypertension, may help researchers understand the impact that academic stress can have on students’ health. Date Modified August 21, 2014 |