engleski

Differences in stress level and subjective quality of life between working and nonworking full-time students

It has been noticed lately that more and more full-time students work during their studying. In average, full-time students have more obligations compared to part-time students, therefore they experience more difficulties regarding academic tasks and time management. Furthermore, a number of students are forced to work due to their economic situation. Stress comprises of both a physiological and psychological response to external events or stressors. These stressors can either be positive or negative, but they have a similar effect on the body. Certain level of stress can be stimulating, but problems occur when stress becomes overwhelming. It was presumed that full-time students with additional job are exposed to more stressors. Even though their part-time jobs contribute to their budget, that also cause stress, since students usually do menial jobs. They could also experience higher level of stress as they fail to fulfill their duties and other obligations at university, because of time limitation caused by work requirements. The present study examines differences in level of stress and subjective quality of life between working full-time students and non-working students. The study also aims to describe contribution of work and academic stress to students' subjective quality of life. Participants of this study are full-time students from Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek. Perceived life stress was measured by Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1983) which was expanded by two items: one regarding to academic stress and the other to work-related stress. Quality of life was measured with Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The results indicate that working students experience similar academic stress than non-working students. Moreover, correlation of satisfaction with life and level of stress with different origin was revealed.

stress; quality of life; students

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