Academic Stress among High School Students in a Rural Area of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Authors

  • Minani Gurung Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Natkamol Chansatitporn Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Kanittha Chamroonsawasdi Department of Family Health, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Punyarat Lapvongwatana Department of Public Health Nursing, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.4978

Keywords:

academic stress, adolescents, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: The period of adolescence undergoes many physical and mental changes.
Changing emotional and physical status along with increasing social, family, and academic
pressure lead to various impairments in the mental health of adolescents. Academic failure
leads to the suicide rate in adolescents, predominantly high during the declaration of exam
results which is significantly high in a rural area in comparison with urban. The study examined
the prevalence of academic stress among high school students in a rural area of Rolpa, Nepal.


Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 6 schools in Rolpa from July to October 2019. The sample size calculated was 521. A convenient sampling technique was used for this study.
The target population was adolescents enrolled in high schools of Rolpa. Ethical approval was taken
before data collection. The scale for assessing academic stress was used to find out the prevalence.
A questionnaire was translated in local language and pre-testing was done in Nepal Police School,
Sanga among 10% of the calculated sample size. Data entry was done in Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences version 18. Descriptive statistical analysis was done for prevalence calculation. 


Results: Out of a total of 521 students, the prevalence of academic stress was seen among 138 (26.5%)
students at a 95% confidence interval (22.72-30.28).


Conclusions: The prevalence of academic stress in our study was high and was consistent with other
South Asian studies. Understanding academic stress and providing help and support to the students
would help ease the burden for them.

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Published

2020-05-30

How to Cite

Gurung, M., Chansatitporn, N. ., Chamroonsawasdi, K. ., & Lapvongwatana, P. . (2020). Academic Stress among High School Students in a Rural Area of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study. Journal of Nepal Medical Association, 58(225), 306–309. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.4978