Comparing stress, areas of stress and coping-strategies between distance-learning and on-campus students - A mixed-methods approach

Marie Drüge; Lara Fritsche; Cornelia Bögemann; Jennifer Apolinário-Hagen; Christel Salewski

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.995089

Comparing stress, areas of stress and coping-strategies between distance-learning and on-campus students - A mixed-methods approach

Front Psychol. 2022 Aug 18:13:995089. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.995089. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Marie Drüge¹, Lara Fritsche², Cornelia Bögemann², Jennifer Apolinário-Hagen³, Christel Salewski²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
² Department of Health Psychology, University of Hagen, Hagen, Germany.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Abstract

In recent years, the increase in stress experienced by students, and the related health problems have become a key challenge for health psychologists. The aim of this cross-sectional survey study was to compare stress, areas of stress and coping-strategies of 246 distance-learning (81.7% female; 33.62 years, SD = 9.30) and 254 on-campus students (82.3% female; 24.23 years, SD = 3.99). One-way analyses of variance showed no significant differences in perceived stress and stress symptoms between the student groups. Stress-inducing areas were revealed by qualitative content analysis. Chi-square tests showed that on-campus students significantly more often reported study- and performance-related areas, whereas conflicts between work and private life were more present among distance-learning students. Results also indicated that on-campus students significantly more often cope with stress by means of social support. These findings may help tailoring stress-management interventions for different student groups.

Keywords: areas of stress; coping strategies; distance-learning students; mixed-methods; on-campus students; stress.