College can be a stressful time for students trying to manage class, jobs, extracurricular activities, as well as their personal lives. That may be why one-quarter of college student respondents felt they were doing poor or very poor in managing stress and anxiety, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Student Health and Life.
"I think most college students have come up with techniques to deal with stress and anxiety, but they're not always healthy techniques," said Sumia Ibrahim, a Rutgers College senior. "I know people who abuse drugs to get work done or drink frequently to alleviate stress."
The survey was distributed to students at the University and 31 public and private universities around the country. The results found that reported stress and anxiety levels were highest among seniors, followed by juniors, freshmen and sophomores.
There also appeared to be a correlation between regular exercise and low stress levels in the data, but such a link would have to be further researched in future surveys, said Jon Englund, the executive director for the center.
The Center for Student Health and Life will use the results from the survey to devise new approaches and technologies that would better serve student health and wellness needs, as well as provide the grounds for further areas of research.
"We basically wanted to glean from students themselves, the prime concerns on the health and wellness front so that CSHAL could better serve health and wellness needs, as well as create agendas and policies," Englund said. "Facebook and SurveyMonkey were highly effective ways of reaching out to a good mix of students."
Students who agreed with the results expressed concerns about overall student health.
Shirlyn Cesar, a Douglass College senior, said she thinks it can be difficult for students to adequately take care of themselves in a college atmosphere.
"There's a lot of pressure from so many different areas in college that it's hard to take care of yourself properly," Cesar said.
The survey also addressed the use of technology in college health centers, which found that 56 percent of students liked the idea of storing health records online for ease and convenience, with first-year respondents liking the idea the most.
"Interestingly enough, a vocal minority was concerned about the possible pitfalls associated with online health records, especially the issues of privacy and security," Englund said.
Some students expressed they were strongly opposed to storing health records online.
"I would be bothered [by online health records] because it's not very secure," said Jessica Moyer, a Douglass College sophomore. "But for students, it makes sense because a lot of us live away from home, so they'd be easier to obtain if they were online."
Yolanda Hsiao, a Douglass College student, said she is concerned about the security of online databases that are regularly accessible but can see its potential benefits.
"I understand that a backup of medical files online would be helpful in emergency situations," Hsiao said.
The center also investigated how much students know about their own insurance. More than one-fifth surveyed did not know whether insurance had been used when they visited their school's health center. About the same amount of respondents said they did not use health insurance of some kind for their visit.
"The data indicated a lot of uncertainty and lack of information on the students' part on how they are paying for health care," Englund said. "It points to the bigger issue of rising college costs and hidden fees in education."
As for student use of their school's health centers, the survey found that females visited health centers on campus more than males. A higher percentage of seniors than any other class year visited the health center or counseling office due to anxiety and depression concerns and sexual health/STD screening.
Students most commonly set up appointments by calling from cell phones, whereas others showed up for walk-in appointments. Only 0.2 percent of respondents said they had e-mailed an appointment request, and 1 percent made appointments via a health center Web site, leading researchers to wonder if health centers have fully embraced technology.
"A majority of students would like the ability to set up appointments online, like online airline scheduling where you can see what time slots are available," Englund said.
The data also indicated that while students are comfortable with having health centers communicate with them via cell phone or through e-mail, they would not want to deal with health centers through Facebook or text messaging.
The center plans to hold student focus groups and conduct another survey in the future specifically addressing the causes of stress and anxiety among college students and how to deal with it.
