Stress and Coping in College Students

Abstract

In the present article the academic situations described by university students as events generators of stress are analyzed, together with the coping strategies they utilize to handle them. Gender and study field are considered in the analyses process. The sample included 60 males and females college students with majors in Psychology and Law. An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted, where the students completed a questionnaire where the stressful events and coping strategies were assessed. The results revealed that academic testing are considered the most stressful events. Emotionfocused coping strategies are more commonly used to deal with these stressful events compared to problem-focused strategies. Finally, a series of specific comparisons by gender and major are reported.