Measuring The Stress Lines

Third-level education can be a very stressful experience for many Irish students, especially if they are of a mature age. Students experience a diverse range of stresses from family and social pressures to academic pressures.

Dr Susan Lindsay, head of counselling in DIT, surveyed 262 students in first and second year - 123 women and 139 men. By second year, 30 students had withdrawn from college and one had died.

"As age increased students were more likely to become distressed and withdraw," says Lindsay. First generation students may also find college daunting. Students' perceptions of college life and its demands are very important.

"It comes down to an absence of information for new students. They are getting feedback but it's not always the type of feedback that promotes self-esteem."

Typical remarks are This is a tough experience This is make or break You have to work really hard to get through this course If you fall behind you'll never catch up .

There is an argument that some students may be psychologically vulnerable prior to entering third-level but Lindsay says that the institutions can't be "let off the hook by claiming they don't have a very significant role to play in promoting the well-being of their students."

She surveyed the students twice during first year and twice during second year. The commonest causes of stress, at first, were academic and emotional issues. Among emotional issues were anxiety and loss of self-confidence as well as relationships and separation from home and family and meeting new people.

Later in first year, students identified academic and family issues followed by financial difficulties.

About 40 per cent of the sample had some level of stress by second year, says Lindsay. This was very severe in about 10 per cent of the students, who were at risk of dropping out, becoming very distressed, even suicidal.

"These are the sub-set I want to target for interventions," she says. "DIT has 24,000 students - 11,000 full-time - and six counsellors, so the service can reach only a percentage of students." Lindsay's research is designed to find predictors for students in most need of counselling.

Colleges need to look at their "institutional climate" and identify elements that may enhance or militate against the well-being and adjustment of their students.

In her report, which she presented at the annual conference of the Psychological Society of Ireland, Lindsay writes that colleges should look at how they promote student-student interaction and faculty-student contact.

"Does it have appropriate policies and practices which promote student welfare and development, both academic and personal, and does it demonstrate a clear commitment to providing a broad range of support services and facilities which meet the different needs of their students? Above all, third-level institutions need to identify any major mismatches between their students and the college environment."

Specific sub-sets of students, for instance, mature students, overseas students, students with disabilities, students living away from home for the first time, should be identified. Specialist programmes could then be developed to meet their needs, according to Lindsay.

Orientation programmes for first-years need to be integrated into the curriculum and must be distinguished from "induction" programmes which generally consist of welcoming activities at the beginning of the first term.

Demonstrating the value of seeking early professional support may help to increase awareness among vulnerable students that they do not need to "suffer in silence."