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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1492324

Stress, mental symptoms and well-being in students: A gender analysis

Provisionally accepted
María-José Del Pino María-José Del Pino 1*M. Pilar Matud M. Pilar Matud 2
  • 1 Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Andalucia, Spain
  • 2 University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Stress is a major problem among students, threatening their health and well-being. The aim of the research is to analyze the sources of stress in students and to investigate whether there are gender differences and differences between university and non-university students in stress, coping styles, mental symptoms and well-being. A second aim is to know the relevance of age, education, stress, coping styles, self-esteem and social support on mental symptoms, psychological well-being and life satisfaction of boys and girls. The study was cross-sectional. The sample consisted of 1,426 students between the ages of 16 and 26. The results of the ANOVAs showed that although there were some gender differences, being a university student or not explained more variance than gender. University students had more chronic stress than non-university students. However, they were more satisfied with their studies, had healthier coping styles, fewer mental symptoms, and greater well-being. For both genders, the main predictor of more mental symptoms was a higher emotional coping style. This was followed by lower self-esteem, a higher number of stressful life events, and higher chronic stress. Higher study dissatisfaction was associated with lower psychological well-being and lower life satisfaction. Higher chronic stress was associated with lower life satisfaction. It is concluded that stress and coping styles are relevant to students' mental health. The results of this study are relevant to the design of policies, strategies, and programs to improve students' mental health and well-being.

    Keywords: gender, stress, Coping styles, Mental symptoms, Well-being, self-esteem, social support, Students

    Received: 06 Sep 2024; Accepted: 28 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Del Pino and Matud. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: María-José Del Pino, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, 41013, Andalucia, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.