1. Freshman Stress and Academic Performance: The Role of Gender and Work Status
Can She Do it All?
Erin Stamatelaky, Gabriel Perea, Tamara Garcia & James Amirkhan, Ph. D. // Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, CA
Introduction
• Stress is a predictor of academic achievement (Kotze,
Kleyhans, 2013)
• Studies consistently show that college females self-report
higher stress than males (Ruthing, Marrone, Hladkyj, &
Robinson-Epp 2011)
• Females may perceive more demands and experience event
overload. Females may be more vulnerable to poor
academic performance than males
Hypotheses
• Stress and work hours are correlated, and this effect will be
more pronounced in females
• Female working students will have higher stress overload
scores than male working students
• Female working students will have lower GPA ‘s than male
working students
Methods
Participants:
• 565 Freshman students from Cal State University Long Beach
• Male n=195, Female n =370
Measures
• The Stress Overload Scale (SOS; Amirkhan, 2012)
• 30 item questionnaire proved efficacy for determining
stress in individuals (Amirkhan, 2015)
• 2 subscales: Personal Vulnerability (perceived inability to
cope with demands) and Event Load (perceived level of
demands)
• Scored from 24 (low stress) – 120 (high stress)
• 14 items for demographics including Sex and Work Hours
• Official GPA’s
Procedures:
• Freshman students recruited in general education classes
and surveyed
• University released official student cumulative GPA’s
• Pearson r correlation used to determine relationship
between work hours and stress, and between work hours
and GPA
• 3 work status groups formed: non working, part-time (1-20
work hours), and full-time (21+ work hours) – based on
Federal work study recommended work hours
• Independent samples t-test used to compare gender
differences in stress scores and GPA within each work
group
• Event load used as main dependent variable for gender
comparisons in stress
Correlations Between Work, Stress, and GPA
• There is a positive correlation with hours worked and
SOS scores (r =.145, p < .00)
• There is a negative correlation with hours worked and
GPA (r = -.188, p < .00)
Gender Differences
Non-working students:
• Females experience higher Event Load stress scores
( p = .043, M = 41.0) than males (M = 38.8 ).
• No significant difference in Personal Vulnerability
stress scores and SOS scores
• Female students have higher GPA’s ( p = .047, M =
3.04 ) than male students ( M = 2.87 )
Part-time work students (1-20 work hours):
• Females experience higher Event Load stress scores
( p =.003, M = 43.5 ) than males
( M = 38.68 )
• Females experience higher SOS scores ( p = .021,
M = 78.16 ) stress than males ( M = 71.0)
• No significant difference in Personal Vulnerability
• Females have higher GPA’s ( p = .000, M = 3.01) than
males ( M = 2.61)
Full-time work students (20+ work hours)
• Female students experience higher Event Load stress
scores ( p =.037, M = 47.45 ) than male students ( M
= 42.71 )
• Female students experience higher Personal
Vulnerability stress scores ( p = .044, M = 32.68) than
male students ( M = 42.71 )
• Female students experience higher SOS Scores
( p=.023, M = 85.67 ) than male students
( M = 74.77)
• No significant difference in GPA
Summary
• Work hours associated with high stress overload
scores
• Female students have higher event load stress scores
than male students in all work conditions (Figure 1).
• Work hours associated with lower GPA
• Female students outperform male students
academically (GPA) in non-working and part time work
groups (Figure 2).
Limitations
• These results were all based on self report data.
• Only a small percentage were full-time working
students (n = 70); perhaps future studies will ensure
equal representation of all work groups.
• Studying beyond freshmen would provide additional
insight into the effects of work related stress on long
term academic performance..
Implications
• Females reported higher stress, however contrary to
prediction, they maintain higher GPA’s than males
(Figure 2).
• Female freshmen may have already developed coping
skills they will require into later adulthood.
• Higher event load stress can indicate multiple events
and responsibilities that females perceived.
• Future studies on perceived multiple roles between
genders can provide more insight
• Studies on role overload and work-life balance may
provide insight into event load stress
Discussion
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Non-Working Part-time Full-time
Male
Female
GPA Scores
(Figure 2)
Event Load Stress Scores
(Figure 1)
24
29
34
39
44
49
54
Non-Working Part-time Full-time
Male
Female
FiguresResults
For more information, please contact:
Erin Stamatelaky: erinnicole023@gmail.com
Gabriel Perea::Gabe@goldsocialmedia.com