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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Beth Johnson, MPH, CHES, Abigail Batia, MESS, and Jolie N. Haun, MS, EdS. Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, P.O. Box 118210, Gainesville, FL 32611-8210, (352) 392-0583 ext. 1254, bajohnso@ufl.edu

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether graduate school influences students' social support and stress. Stress can result from conflicting roles in an individual's life that produce competing demands over time. Graduate students must find ways to cope with the stress that accompanies their conflicting roles. Social support serves as a buffer against stress among graduate students. Methods: A convenience sample of 12 graduate students from both masters and doctoral programs consented to participate in qualitative interviews. Participants represented various fields, including health education, molecular genetics, English, business administration. The interview protocol consisted of open-ended questions regarding personal and professional/academic responsibilities, stress levels, and coping strategies. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed to discern existing themes presented. Results: Participants experienced role conflict between professional/academic and personal responsibilities. Difficulty balancing these responsibilities resulted in increased stress levels. Social support from personal, professional/academic, and faith-based sources reduced stress levels for participants prior to entering graduate school. However, changes in graduate students' levels of social support prevented them from using it as a means to cope with stress. Inadequately coping with stress caused symptoms of burnout, which lead some participants to consider leaving their programs before completing their degrees. Conclusions: Since increasing social support reduces stress among graduate students and given the prevalence of stress among graduate students, it seems imperative that university personnel help students develop social support networks. The benefits of this coping strategy may reduce the prevalence of burnout, while enhancing the overall well-being of graduate students.

Learning Objectives: "At the conclusion of the session, the participants in this session will be able to

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• Recognize potential areas of role conflict in the lives of graduate students that may increase stress levels.
• Identify sources of social support available to graduate students.
• Describe the relationship between graduate students' stress levels and social support.
• Identify the barriers graduate students experience in attempting to reduce stress via social support.

Keywords: College Students, Stress

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered