RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the study

Stress is a response of an individual to a perceived or encountered threat or demand, which is beyond his/her ability to handle. That is to say, it is a condition where by an individual interprets an event as a threat or demand and swiftly response to it. Stress could cause unpleasant emotional and physiological changes in a person, thus resulting into mental and physical illness. However, stress is not entirely negative, in a way that it demoralizes and reduces the performance of a person, to the extent that he/she becomes depressed and aggressive, rather, it has a positive impart to him/her, where it alert him/her on a dangerous situation he/she finds himself/herself, thus prepares him/her to face it squarely. Stress is cause by inevitable events within the environment that are called stressors. These stressors are found in every aspect of human life such as homes, schools, working places, hospitals, and prisons.

Stress has become an important topic in academic circles as well as in the society. Some scholars in the field of behavioural sciences have carried out extensive research on stress and its outcomes and concluded that the topic needed more attention. Stress can come in different ways in an individual‟s daily life (Agolla, 2008). When there is a change in life, we adjust ourselves to fit in the new condition. For a student, stress may be caused by failure in academic, financial and health problems or loss of a family member as well as close associates. Events that bring stress are called stressors. A sudden change in life or stressors may affect a person‟s life style or even his/her physical and mental health. The impact a stressor leaves on a person depends on how the person takes the tension. If the person takes the event positively by accepting it as a part of challenge in life and finds ways to deal with it, the stress will fade away and he/she gets over it.

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Conversely, the consequence may leave the person a prolonged emotional disturbance. University provides students‟ tertiary education and psychosocial development. Besides, pursuing knowledge in University, a student also gets to socialized with different kinds of people and undergoes psychological development. Studies show that entering University may bring strain or stress (Gall, Evans, & Bellerose, 2000). This is because University students face changing education system, lifestyle, and social environment. University students need to reach certain levels of academic achievement to graduate.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA