Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract BACKGROUND: Academic stress is a predominant phenomenon among grade 11 and 12 students. 
The performance in Grade 12 is important for entry to higher education programs in India. The 
purpose of the study was to assess the magnitude of the perceived academic stress and identify the 
main stressors and the sociodemographic variables associated with the perceived academic stress 
among adolescents enrolled in the science stream in coastal Karnataka.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Upon Institutional Ethical Committee approval, a 
cross‑sectional survey was carried out among pre‑university students (science stream) of 
coastal Karnataka during February–April 2021. The study used Manipal Inventory of Academic 
Stress (MIAS) scale to collect data on perceived academic stress from 1859 students (response 
rate 68.3%). Stratified cluster sampling method was used to collect data from the study participants. 
IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 26.0 was used to analyze the data. 
Descriptive statistics, unpaired t‑test, one‑way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple linear 
regression analyses were used to study the association between academic stress and various 
demographic variables.
RESULTS: The study revealed that 28% of the Grade 11 students and 26% of the Grade 12 students 
experienced high or extreme stress. The significant stressors were lack of time for revision, queries 
from neighbors or relatives, and parental expectations on academic performance. Gender, residence, 
and the medium of instruction until Grade 10 were associated with academic stress.
CONCLUSION: Measures at the institutional and national levels are necessary to reduce the 
academic stress in higher secondary education. The integrated curriculum proposed in the National 
Educational Policy 2020 addresses a few stressors identified in this study.

Abstract ntroduction: COVID‑19 has affected the quality of life of all age groups. Medical education during 
the pandemic shifted to online mode due to lockdown restrictions. The stress felt by medical students 
during the pandemic has been studied less. The current study aimed to assessed the stressors and 
de‑stressors for undergraduate medical students during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Materials and methods: A cross‑sectional online survey was conducted for the undergraduate 
medical students of a tertiary care institute of eastern India. A total of 307 medical students were 
included in the study by convenient and snowball sampling. A self‑designed semi‑structural 
questionnaire was created as a Google form and circulated among the students between September 
and October 2020. A combination of purposive and snowball sampling was adopted. Responses 
regarding stressors and de‑stressors were recorded on a Likert scale. Data analysis was performed 
using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Categorical variables were presented 
as percentages and descriptive statistics were performed.
Results: A total of 307 students responded and 64.5% of them were men and 35.5% were women. 
47.6% of the students experienced stress due to changes brought about by COVID‑19. Risk of parents 
getting infection (63.2%), fear of not easily returning home (53.1%), lack of clinical exposure (52.7%), 
and financial impact (47.9%) were the major stressors perceived by the students. Connecting with 
family and friends through social media (47.5%), gaming (45.0%), online streaming platform (51.2%), 
spending time with family members (54.4%) were the coping strategies adopted by these students.
Conclusion: Higher level of psychological stress perceived by the undergraduate students needs 
psychological intervention. Academic revamp and adaptation of coping strategies are required for 
the medical under‑graduates.