The Impact of Stress Among Students’ Academic Performance: A Quantitative Analysis

Stress is a significant factor affecting the academic performance and well-being of students in higher education. The present study focuses on examining the relationship between stress levels and various independent variables, such as emotional and academic attributes, to identify the key variables contributing to stress and their impact on Post-Graduation CGPA. Statistical methods like Pearson correlation, T-Tests, and ANOVA have been used on a sample of 130 students aged 20-24 across Mysuru. The results show a high positive correlation between stress and attributes such as feeling emotionally drained (0.7185), avoidance (0.7047), and emotional instability (0.6907). Stress showed a negative correlation with post-graduation CGPA with a value of −0.6894. Significant differences across categories of stress can be confirmed using hypothesis tests; the <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$p$</tex>-values came out to be highly significant: <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$8.475 \times 10^{-17}$</tex> for T-Tests and <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$9.949 \times 10^{-23}$</tex> for ANOVA. The most significant predictor of stress identified in this analysis is emotionally drained at 18.2%, followed by emotional instability at 17.4%. Although its relationship with stress is negative, Post-Graduation CGPA has emerged as a protective factor. Thus, this study emphasizes the crucial factors of emotional and academic stimulation that contribute to stress and underscores the need for targeted interventions to enhance mental health and academic resilience. It thereby provides a foundation for future research into holistic strategies to manage stress and improve outcomes in higher education.