Social Support and Stress among University Students: A Correlational Study

Students feel stress, an unfavorable state, during their study period. In order to reduce the impact of stress, students need social support. Therefore, the primary objectives of this study are to identify the various stressors affecting university students and examine the role of social support in mitigating the impact of stressors. In this cross-sectional study, conducted at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, data were collected from 393 students through a structured survey questionnaire. Frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were calculated to identify the major stressors and sources of social support. At the same time, Pearson product-moment correlation and linear regression were run to determine the association between social support and stress. The study found that 'serious illness in family members' (mean=2.30, SD=1.588) was the most significant in the family-related domain. On the other hand, Psychological stressors were led by 'misunderstood or rejected by others' (mean=1.79, SD=1.508), and Economic as well as environmental stressors were dominated by 'major change in financial state' (mean=1.99, SD=1.321) and ‘change in living environment' (mean=1.96, SD=1.242). A significant negative correlation (r=-.168, n=393, p<0.001) was found between perceived social support and stress. The findings of the study increase the necessity of social support systems in mitigating stress among university students.