Thesis for Tourism Students

Stress and Coping Mechanisms of Tourism Students

of West Visayas State University

An Undergraduate Thesis Presented to the

Faculty of the College of Business and Management

West Visayas State University

Iloilo City

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirement for the Degree

Bachelor of Tourism

by:

Kirstin Joy G.Cañete

Leoney Clianne Peligres

Cherry Mae P. Cordero

March 2012

WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITYCOLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Iloilo City

Introduction of the Study

Chapter 1 is divided into five parts: (1) Background and Theoretical

Framework of the Study, (2) Statement of the Problem and the Hypotheses,

(3) Significance of the Study, (4) Definition of Terms, and (5) Delimitation of

the Study.

Part One, Background and Theoretical Framework of the Study,

presents the reasons for choosing the problem and the theoretical framework

upon which the study was anchored.

Part Two, Statement of the Problem and the Hypothesis, identifies the

main and specific problems that the research hoped to answer as well as the

hypothesis tested.

Part Three, Significance of the Study, cites the benefits that may be

derived from the results of the investigation.

Part Four, Definition of Terms, gives the conceptual and operational

meanings of the important terms used in the study.


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Part Five, Delimitation of the Study, specifies the scope and coverage

of the study.

Background and Theoretical Framework of the Study

Education is one of the most important aspects of human resource

development. Poor school performance not only results in having a low self-

esteem, but also causes negative behaviours among students. There are

many reasons for students to underperform at school and one of these is

stress.

Stress has become an important topic in academic circle as well as in

our society. Many scholars in the field of behavioural science have carried out

extensive research on stress and its outcomes and concluded that the topic

needed more attention (Rees and Redfern, 2000; Ellison, 2004; Ongori and

Ag olla, 2008; Agolla, 2009). Stress in academic institutions can have both

positive and negative consequences if not well managed (Smith, 2002;

Tweed et al., 2004; Steven son and Harper, 2006). Academic institutions

have different work settings compared to non-academic and therefore one

would expect the difference in symptoms, causes, and consequences of


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stress in the two set up (Elfering et al. , 2005; Chang and Lu, 2007). It is

important to the society that students should learn and acquire the necessary

knowledge and skills that will in turn make them contribute positively to the

development of the general economy of any nation. However, the intricate

academic environment sometimes poses great medical problems to the

students' lives (Danna and Griffin, 1999; Dyck, 2001; Grawitch et al.,

2007; Ongori, 2008) that tend to negate the positive gains that one

would expect after completion of University.

A disturbing trend in college student health is the reported increase in

student stress nationwide. Stressors affecting students can be as academic,

financial, time or health related, and self-imposed stress (Goodman, 1993;

LeRoy, 1988). Academic stressors include the student's perception of the

extensive knowledge base required and the perception of an inadequate time

to develop it (Carveth, et al. 1996). Students report experiencing academic

stress at predictable times each semester with the greatest sources of

academic stress resulting from taking and studying for exams, grade

competition, and the large amount of content to master in a small amount of

time (Abouserie, 1994; Archer & Lamnin, 1985; Britton & Tesser, 1991; Kohn

& Frazer, 1986).

It is important for the university to maintain well-balanced academic

environment conducive for better learning, with the focus on the students'

personal needs. Students' expectations vary with respect to personality and


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their backgrounds which influences on how one perceive the environment

around him/her. Students at the university have different expectations, goals,

and values that they want to fulfil at the university, which is only possible if

the students' expectations, goals, and values are integrated with that of the

university (Goodman, 1993) .

The future of any nation lies heavily on the young people since they

are the tomorrow's leaders; therefore, it is important to identify the different

stressors and the coping mechanisms of these students. This will help the

university administrators to come up with the best

strategies to enable the students to cope up with these stressors while

pursuing their academic careers. The negative effect of stress on students is

likely to pose challenge to the individual students, their colleagues, and the

institution as a whole.

With this concern, the researcher is interested to identify the different

stressors and coping mechanisms of fellow tourism students.

Figure 1. shows the conceptual framework of the study.

Dependent Variable Independent

Variable


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Personal Details

Gender

Year Level

No. Of Siblings

Annual Family Income

Stressors

Figure 2. Stressors and Stress Coping Mechanisms of Tourism Students

as influence by their personal factors.

Statement of the Problem and Hypothesis

This study aims to determine the stress coping mechanisms of tourism

students of West Visayas State University.

Specifically this study seeks to answer to the following question:

1. What are the stress coping mechanisms of tourism students when

taken as an entire group?

2. What are the dominant stressors among tourism students when

taken as an entire group?


Iloilo CityStress Coping Mechanisms

3. Are the differences in the stress coping mechanisms of the students

when classified as an entire group?

4. Are there significant significant differences in the academic

stressors of the students when classified as an entire group?

5. Is there significant relationship between the stressors and coping

mechanisms of tourism students when classified as an entire group.

In view of the problems stated, the following hypotheses was

formulated

1.There are no significant differences on the stress and coping

mechanisms of the tourism students of West Visayas State University,

classified according to a) gender, b) year level, c) number of siblings in

the family, and d) family income.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study may be beneficial to the following:

Curriculum Planners. The findings will help them properly plan the

offering of the different subjects that will not become stressors to students.


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Future Researchers. Results will be useful for them in the course of

their future studies on the same issues utilizing other variables.

Guidance Counselors. The results will serve as baseline data to

institute and facilitate improved services and provide supportive environment

to students needing guidance.

Parents. This study will provide in-depth information to parents that

will help them provide supportive home environment that will be helpful in

improving academic performance of these students.

School Administrators. By knowing the different stressors of these

students, they will be prepared to provide a well-balanced academic

environment conducive for better learning, with the focus on the students'

personal needs.

Tourism Students. The findings will provide students proper awareness

on the different stressors they are facing. This will also inform them how

they could be able to cope with the stress.

Future researchers. This study would be beneficial as this would serve

as a basis for their own study and provide useful information that they may

use.

Definition of Terms


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For a reason of clarity and precision, the following terms used in this

study were given their conceptual and operational meanings:

Coping Mechanisms- Coping has been defined in psychological terms

by Susan Folkman and Richard Lazarus (1990) as 'constantly changing

cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal

demands that are appraised as taxing. Coping is thus expending conscious

effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master,

minimize or tolerate stress or conflict.’

In this study coping mechanisms are cognitive and behavioral efforts

done by BS Tourism students to manage stress in their lives as students. The

coping mechanisms used are either of the following

(http://changingminds.org, September, 2011):adaptive, attack, avoidance

behavioural, conversion and defence.

Stress (psychology)- is an unpleasant state of emotional and

physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive

as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. The word stress means

different things to different people.

Stressors - are circumstances that cause stress and vary in severity

and duration. In this study stressors are situations or circumstances that

cause stress among BS Tourism students and are classified as interpersonal,

intrapersonal, academic and environmental stressors.


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lazarus

http://changingminds.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_conflict

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(medicine)

Tourism – defined as the practice of travelling for pleasure

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tourism, 2011).

In this study, tourism is operationally defined as a four year degree

course.

Students – defined as one who is enrolled or attends class at a school,

college or university (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/student, 2011).

In this study, students are operationally defined as the participants of

the study, studying at West Visayas State University, College Of Business and

Management taking up Bachelor of Tourism.

Delimitation of the Study

This study will cover students enrolled in the Bachelor of Tourism at

West Visayas State University, Iloilo city this academic year 2011-2012.

The independent variables will be the different sources of stress called

stressors present among students. The different stressors as identified will be

interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic and environmental. The dependent

variable will be the coping mechanisms such as: Adaptive, Attack,

Avoidance, Behavioral, Conversion, and Defense.

The study will use the survey and correlation techniques of the

descriptive method of research. The primary instrument to be used in


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http://www.thefreedictionary.com/student

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tourism

gathering the data needed will be the questionnaire. The questionnaire will

have three (3) parts.

Part I will be questions for the personal characteristics of tourism

students in terms of gender, year level, number of siblings in the family,

sibling rank, occupation of parents, and family income. Part II will be

questions identifying the level of stress. Part III will be questions identifying

the different coping mechanisms of students such as: Defense Mechanism,

Avoidance Mechanism, Behavioral Mechanism, Adaptive Mechanism,

Avoidance Mechanism, Cognitive Mechanism

CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature


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This chapter deals with the review of literature related to the present

study. This is divided into six parts: (1) Conceptual Literature, (2) Definition of

Stress, (3) Sources of Stress, (4) Coping Mechanisms of Stress, and (5)

Summary.

Conceptual Literature

Stress (psychology), is an unpleasant state of emotional and

physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive

as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. The word stress means

different things to different people. Some people define stress as events or

situations that cause them to feel tension, pressure, or negative emotions

such as anxiety and anger. Others view stress as the response to these

situations. This response includes physiological changes—such as increased

heart rate and muscle tension—as well as emotional and behavioral changes.

However, most psychologists regard stress as a process involving a person’s

interpretation and response to a threatening event.

The circumstances that cause stress are called stressors. Stressors vary in

severity and duration. For example, the responsibility of caring for a sick

parent may be an ongoing source of major stress, whereas getting stuck in a

traffic jam may cause mild, short-term stress. Some events, such as the

death of a loved one, are stressful for everyone. But in other situations,


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individuals may respond differently to the same event—what is a stressor for

one person may not be stressful for another. For example, a student who is

unprepared for a chemistry test and anticipates a bad grade may feel stress,

whereas a classmate who studies in advance may feel confident of a good

grade. For an event or situation to be a stressor for a particular individual, the

person must appraise the situation as threatening and lack the coping

resources to deal with it effectively.

Students experience stress due to the physical, mental, social and

emotional demands placed on them on a daily basis. While others are under a

constant state of stress, students can face particularly difficult daily episodes

of stress in relation to the unique environment of the school setting. Students

who have a basic knowledge of stress and effective stress coping

mechanisms will ultimately be better suited to handle the demands of the

academic environment.

Coping with stress means using thoughts and actions to deal with

stressful situations and lower our stress levels. Many people have a

characteristic way of coping with stress based on their personality. People

who cope well with stress tend to believe


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they can personally influence what happens to them. They usually make

more positive statements about themselves, resist frustration, remain

optimistic, and persevere even under extremely adverse circumstances. Most

importantly, they choose the appropriate strategies to cope with the

stressors they confront. Conversely, people who cope poorly with stress tend

to have somewhat opposite personality characteristics, such as lower self-

esteem and a pessimistic outlook on life.

Then stress coping mechanisms of BS Tourism students are influenced

by the different stressors. These stressors may likewise be influenced by their

personal characteristics.

Stress

There are several theoretical positions devised for examining and

understanding stress and stress-related disorders. Brantley and Thomason

(1995) categorized them into three groups: response theories, stimulus

theories, and interaction (or transaction) theories.

According to Selye (1956), the ‘stress’ response of the organism

represented a common set of generalized physiological responses that were


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experienced by all organisms exposed to a variety of environmental

challenges like temperature change or exposure to noise. From his

perspective, the stress response was nonspecific; that is, the type of stressor

experienced did not affect the pattern of response. In other words, a wide

variety of stressors elicited an identical or general stress response. He

termed this nonspecific response the General Adaptation Syndrome, which

consisted of three stages: Alarm Reaction, Resistance, and Exhaustion.

Selye reasoned that the first stage, Alarm Reaction, involved the

classic ‘fight-flight’ response described above. As a result, the body’s

physiological system dropped below optimal functioning. As the body

attempted to compensate for the physiological reactions observed in the

Alarm Reaction stage, the organism entered the Resistance stage.

Physiological compensatory systems began working at peak capacity to resist

the challenges the entire system was confronting, and according to Selye,

actually raised the body’s resistance to stress above homeostatic levels.

However, because this response consumed so much energy, a body

could not sustain it forever. Once energy had been depleted, the organism


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entered the stage of Exhaustion. In this stage, resistance to environmental

stressors broke down and the body became susceptible to tissue damage and

perhaps even death. In Selye’s terminology, the Alarm Reaction Stage was

comparable to the acute stress response described above and the Exhaustion

Stage was comparable to a chronic stress response.

Researchers (Vermunt and Steensman, 2005; Topper, 2007; Ussery,

2007; Malach-Pines and Keinan, 2007) have defined stress as the perception

of discrepancy between environmental demands (stressors) and individual

capacities to fulfil these demands. While researcher (Campbell, 2006) defines

stress as the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other

types of demands placed on them. Stress occurs when an individual is

confronted by a situation that they perceive as overwhelming and cannot

cope up with.

Sources of Stress

Interpersonal

Stress is often the by-product of conflicts amongst peers, family or

colleagues. Such types of conflicts are referred to as interpersonal conflicts.

These types of conflicts take away the cohesiveness that would be otherwise


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seen in a group situation and thus, cause stress amongst the members of the

group.

This type of a conflict is seen in almost every setting, be it home, work

or even a place as casual as a leisure club or cafeteria! However, the extent

to which the stress is felt depends upon the role played by each participant.

Thus, this conflict can be invoked on one way or two way lines.

For example, person A may feel a sense of conflict with person B, but

person B may not even be aware of it. In another situation, both A and B may

feel the conflict.

Thus, stress may be felt depending upon how active a person is in the state

of conflict. Usually, the person who holds grudges feels a lot of stress and so

does the person against whom the grudges are held.

The extent of this feeling of stress also depends upon how involved a

person really is. However, if a conflict is one-way, it might result in a state of

stress for the person against whom a conflict is felt.

Such type of stress would then be called as 'perceived stress'. It is

imperative that the cause of conflict be removed in order to do away with


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interpersonal conflict. The immediate consequence would be that the levels

of stress would reduce manifold.

The resolution of such a conflict starts with the step called 'originate'. It refers

to a process in which each person makes a mention of the other person's

problem behavior. However, what one person may perceive as a problem will

not be a cause for worry for another one (Jones, 2009).

The findings on the influence of gender on students' reported levels of

stress is inconsistent with that of Misra and McKean (2000) and Taylor and

Owusu-Banahene (2007).

Misra and Mckean found that although women are able to manage

their time more effectively than men, they express high stress and anxiety in

academic environment than males. Taylor and OwusuBanahene further gave

some plausible reasons to explain these differences as: women are more

concerned about their living and sleeping environment; they are often

saddled with domestic activities in their halls of residence, for example

cooking and washing; and they often attend to family and marital demands at

home. However, among the part-time female students, these reasons do not

largely apply to them because most of them do not stay on campus.

Rather, both male and female students on the part-time programme are

faced with similar stressors on the programme, for example, changes in sleep


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and eating habit, having to combine job, schooling and family life, and having

to worry about their academic performance and the financial demands that

the programme places on them. A comparison of the mean score for the

stress level reported by the students shows that although female students

reported a higher level of stress than male students, this difference was

statistically insignificant (http://periodicals.faqs.org /201003)

Intrapersonal

Stress among part-time (working) students has, in recent times, caught

the attention of educational researchers. Studies have found that college

students holding jobs experience more stress than those without a job. The

purpose of this study was, therefore, to identify the sources and levels of

stress among part-time students among part-time business students in a

Ghanaian university. A total of 300 part-time business students were selected

for this study. The Student Stress Survey Scale and the Overload Assessment

Test were adopted and adapted as the main instrument for the study. It was

found that "change in sleeping habits", "change in eating habit" and

"combining job and schooling" were the three most common sources of stress

reported by the students. Again, the students are reported that they

perceived the part-time programme to be stressful. The researchers

recommend, among others, that part-time (working) students should reduce

their social commitments and engagements in other areas of life in order to


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concentrate more on their jobs and schooling

(http://periodicals.faqs.org /201003).

Academic Stress

Academic stress among students have long been researched on, and

researchers have identified stressors as too many assignments, competition

with other students, failures, lack of pocket money (Fairbrother and Warn,

2003), poor relationships with other students or lecturers, family or problems

at home. Institutional (university) level stressors are overcrowded lecture

halls, (Ongori, 2007; Awino and Ag olla, 2008), semester system, and

inadequate resources to perform academic work.

Erkutlu and Chafra (2006) for instance opines that, when these events

take place, an individual becomes disorganised, disoriented and therefore

less able to cope up, thus resulting in stress related health problems. The

pressure to perform well in the examination or test and time allocated makes

academic environment very stressful (Erkutlu and Chafra, 2006;

Polychronopoulou and Divaris, 2005; Misra and Mc Kean, 2000). This is likely


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to affect the social relations both within the University and outside

(Fairbrother and Warn, 2004) since there is conflict with the social aspect of

one’s life. This not the only affect the social relations within or outside the

University, but this goes to affect the individual person's life in terms of

commitment to achieving the goals.

Knowing the causes of students stress will make the University

administrator know how to monitor and control the stress factors that are

responsible for the students stress. scholars (Ornelas and Kleiner, 2003;

Jaramillo et al. , 2004; Verment and Steesma, 2005; Ongori, 2007; Topper,

2007; Ongori and Agolla, 2008; Agolla, 2009) for instance identified the

symptoms and the causes of stress in work environments as sitting for a long

period of time, poor work performance, poor interpersonal relationship,

inadequate or lack of resources, inadequate time to perform particular

assignments, poor working conditions, overcrowded work stations, excessive

paperwork, and many others.

Whereas these factors have been found to be responsible for stress, it

is worth noting that in order to minimise the stress among students, the

University administrators must develop appropriate strategies that will

enable them to detect in advance the symptoms and causes of the stress.

Researchers (Malach-Pines and Keinan, 2007; Ongori, 2007; Ongori and


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Agolla, 2008; Agolla, 2009) have long identified stress symptoms as lack of

energy, taking over the counter medication, high blood pressure, feeling

depresssed, increase in appetite, trouble concentrating, restlessness,

tensions and anxiety among others. An individual experiencing one of these

factors is likely to be a victim of stress. Although this may also depend on

how the individual appraises the situation, and how resilient is the person.

While the negative effects of stress on an individual may vary considerably

from one student based on their previous encounter with situations and the

resilient of the individual student. In their findings (Jaramillo et al. , 2005;

Stevenson and Harper, 2006) point out that, the perception of the individual

determines whether or not the stressor has a detrimental effect; that is

whether it causes physical or psychological symptoms of stress in the

individual. Earlier study by Siegrist (1998) also indicated a close link between

high amounts of occupational stress and ill health. This means that

deterioration in health of the individual is likely to affect the individual

performance. In a higher learning institution such as University (Smith et al.,

2000) where the demand placed on students is based on deadlines and

pressure for excelling in tests or examination, students are likely to be the

victims of stress. Our argument is that, students stress has not gained much

attention since most scholars were preoccupied with the conventional work

related stress as opposed to academic students stress. Institutions worldwide

have not taken serious steps to find out the health of students, this could be


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attributed to the fact that students who stay at the university is based on

short period, and therefore their stress have little direct impact on the

activities or operations of the institution. Another reason why little have been

done on students stress could be due to the fact that students' presence in

the institution have no direct relationship to the quality of education they get.

We argue that, unless the university put appropriate measures that take care

of well being of the students, the student's health may compromise the

quality of education they are supposed to get (Daniels and Harris, 2000;

Smith et al. , 2000; Finlayson, 2003).

Environmental Stress

The outcome associated with stress such as suicide, violence, and drug

abuse among others have been witnessed in the institution often, and are

worth paying attention to. Stress poses a great threat to quality of life for

students (Danna and Griffin, 1999; Dyck, 2001). Students interact amongst

themselves as well as with their lecturers, therefore unduly stressed and

unhappy students will reflect this in the process of the engagement that may

result in conflict (Ongori, 2007; Awino and Ag olla, 2008) .


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It has been found that one traditional manifestation of increased stress

among college stress is a corresponding drop in grade-point average

(Schroeder, 2002). Cochran (2001) also identified some of the effects of

stress among students with jobs as depression, suicide, substance abuse and

eating disorders. Snelgar (1990) summarized the literature on effects on

stress by stating that stress has been related to physical and mental, health,

coronary heart disease, absenteeism and the value of work.

Coping Mechanisms of Stress

Adaptive Mechanisms. People cope with difficulties in various ways,

where many of them negative and uncomfortable as one try to repel or hide

from uncomfortable feelings. Sometimes people manage to act in more

positive and helpful ways. Some of these mechanisms are

(http://changingminds.org, September, 2011):

Compartmentalization : separating conflicting thoughts into separated

compartments.

Compensation : Over-doing one thing to compensate for another

weakness.

Displacement : shifting of intended action to a safer target.


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http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/displacement.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/compensation.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/compartmentalization.htm


Idealization : playing up the good points and ignoring limitations of

things desired.

Identification : copying others to take on their characteristics.

Intellectualization : avoiding emotion by focusing on facts and logic.

Performing rituals : Getting time to think.

Post-traumatic growth : Using the energy of trauma for good.

Sublimation : Channel psychic energy into acceptable activities.

Substitution : Replacing bad things with good things.

Undoing : actions that psychologically 'undo' wrongdoings for the

wrongdoer.

These are some of the more positive mechanisms or methods that can

be used positively. In practice, a number of other coping methods work well

enough without doing any harm.


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http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/undoing.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/substitution.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/sublimation.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/post-traumatic_growth.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/performing_rituals.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/intellectualization.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/identification.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/idealization.htm

Attack Mechanisms. We cope with difficulties in various ways. Some

are more positive than others. Perhaps the worst kind is where we may

attack others. Arguably, all attacks on others are forms of coping with our

own internal troubles.

Acting out : not coping - giving in to the pressure to misbehave.


Fight-or-Flight reaction : Reacting by attacking.

Passive aggression : avoiding refusal by passive avoidance.

Projection : seeing your own unwanted feelings in other people.

Reaction Formation : avoiding something by taking a polar opposite

position.

Trivializing : Making small what is really something big.

Avoidance Mechanisms. Whilst avoidance and denial is a relatively

harmless method that can be useful in the short term, it can still result in

significant internal damage and may end up coming out in other ways

(http://changingminds.org, September, 2011):.


Avoidance : mentally or physically avoiding something that causes

distress.

Denial : refusing to acknowledge that an event has occurred.



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http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/denial.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/avoidance.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/acting_out.htm


http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/trivializing.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/reaction_formation.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/projection.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/passive_aggression.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/brain/fight_flight.htm



Fantasy : escaping reality into a world of possibility.


things desired.



Performing rituals : Patterns that delay.


Rationalization : creating logical reasons for bad behavior.


position.

Regression : returning to a child state to avoid problems.

Repression : subconsciously hiding uncomfortable thoughts.

Symbolization : turning unwanted thoughts into metaphoric symbols.


In some ways, most forms of coping include denial as the person avoids the

real issue.

Behavioral Mechanisms. Here are various mechanisms that change

how we behave.


Aim inhibition : lowering sights to what seems more achievable.

Altruism : Helping others to help self.


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http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/altruism.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/aim_inhibition.htm



http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/symbolization.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/repression.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/regression.htm


http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/rationalization.htm


http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/performing_rituals.htm




http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/fantasy.htm

Attack : trying to beat down that which is threatening you.


distress.

Compensation : making up for a weakness in one area by gain strength

in another.




position.


Undoing : actions that psychologically 'undo' wrongdoings for the

wrongdoer.

Cognitive Mechanisms. Here are various mental mechanisms that

help us cope.




distress.

Compartmentalization : separating conflicting thoughts into separated

compartments.


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http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/compartmentalization.htm




http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/undoing.htm





http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/compensation.htm


http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/attack.htm

Conversion : subconscious conversion of stress into physical

symptoms.

Denial : refusing to acknowledge that an event has occurred.


Dissociation : separating oneself from parts of your life.

Fantasy : escaping reality into a world of possibility.


things desired.



Introjection : Bringing things from the outer world into the inner world.



Rationalization : creating logical reasons for bad behavior.


position.


Repression : subconsciously hiding uncomfortable thoughts.

Somatization : psychological problems turned into physical symptoms.

Suppression : consciously holding back unwanted urges.




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http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/suppression.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/somatization.htm







http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/introjection.htm




http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/fantasy.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/dissociation.htm



http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/conversion.htm

Conversion Mechanisms. One family of coping mechanisms acts to

transform the difficulty in some way.



Conversion : subconscious conversion of stress into physical

symptoms.



things desired.

Post-traumatic growth : Using the energy of trauma for good.


position.

Somatization : psychological problems turned into physical symptoms.

Sublimation : channeling psychic energy into acceptable activities.

Substitution : Replacing one thing with another.


Trivializing : Making small what is really something big

Defense Mechanism. Defense mechanisms are automatic

psychological processes that protect an individual from anxiety and the

awareness of internal or external threats or stressors. People are often


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http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/substitution.htm


http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/somatization.htm


http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/post-traumatic_growth.htm



http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/conversion.htm



unaware of these processes as they operate (although others may be

painfully aware of them!). Defense mechanisms can be classified into groups

or levels that indicate how they affect an individual's functioning.

Sigmund Freud describes how the Ego uses a range of mechanisms to

handle the conflict between the Id, the Ego and the Super ego. His daughter

Anna introduced the principle of inner mechanisms that defend the ego in

her 1936 book 'The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense'.

Anxiety and tension. Freud noted that a major drive for most people

is the reduction in tension, and that a major cause of tension was anxiety. He

identified three different types of anxiety.

Reality Anxiety. This is the most basic form of anxiety and is

typically based on fears of real and possible events, such as being bitten by

a dog or falling from a ladder.

The most common way of reducing tension from Reality Anxiety is taking

oneself away from the situation, running away from the dog or simply

refusing to go up the ladder.

Neurotic Anxiety . This is a form of anxiety which comes from an

unconscious fear that the basic impulses of the ID (the primitive part of our


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http://changingminds.org/principles/tension.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/personality/freud_personality.htm#per

http://changingminds.org/explanations/personality/freud_personality.htm#per

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/psychoanalysis/theorists/freud.htm

personality) will take control of the person, leading to eventual punishment

(this is thus a form of Moral Anxiety).

Moral Anxiety. This form of anxiety comes from the Superego in the

form of a fear of violating values and moral codes, and appears as feelings of

guilt or shame.

When anxiety occurs, the mind first responds by an increase in

problem-solving thinking, seeking rational ways of escaping the situation. If

this is not fruitful (and maybe anyway), a range of defense mechanisms

may be triggered. These are tactics which the Ego develops to help deal

with the Id and the Super Ego.All Defense Mechanisms share two common

properties :

They often appear unconsciously.

They tend to distort, transform, or otherwise falsify reality.

In distorting reality, there is a change in perception which allows for a

lessening of anxiety, with a corresponding reduction in felt tension.

Anna Freud's Defense Mechanisms include:

Denial : claiming/believing that what is true to be actually false.

Displacement : redirecting emotions to a substitute target.

Intellectualization : taking an objective viewpoint.

Projection : attributing uncomfortable feelings to others.

Rationalization : creating false but credible justifications.


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http://changingminds.org/explanations/emotions/shame.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/emotions/guilt.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/values/values.htm

Reaction Formation : overacting in the opposite way to the fear.

Regression : going back to acting as a child.

Repression : pushing uncomfortable thoughts into the subconscious.

Sublimation : redirecting 'wrong' urges into socially acceptable actions.

Summary

Students experience stress due to the physical, mental, social and

emotional demands placed on them on a daily basis. While we all are under a

constant state of stress, students can face particularly difficult daily episodes

of stress in relation to the unique environment of the school setting. Students

who have a basic knowledge of stress and effective stress coping

mechanisms will ultimately be better suited to handle the demands of the

academic environment.

There are different sources of stress challenging students in a

university which includes: interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic and

environmental stress. These sources may have been affecting students in

various levels. As a student there are several ways to cope with the internal

and external stresses that are a part of the school setting.These mechanisms

includes: adaptive, attack, avoidance, behaviour, conversion and defense.

Their mechanisms strategies may differ depending on their personal

characteristics.


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CHAPTER 3

Research Design and Methodology

Chapter 3 consists of three (3) parts: (1) Purpose of the Study and Research

Design, (2) Method, and (3) Data Analysis Procedure.

Purpose of the Study and Research Design

The purpose of this study is to find out the different stressors and the

stress coping mechanisms among BS Tourism students at West Visayas State

University, Iloilo City this academic year 2011-2012.


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The study will utilize the survey and correlation techniques of the

descriptive research method. This design does not only focus on the

description of the phenomenon but also seeks to find out the relationship

between and among the variables (Sevilla et al, 1992). According to Ardales

(2008), descriptive research is designed to study what is, and finds out what

prevail in the present conditions or relationships, held opinions and beliefs,

processes and effects, and developing trends. It also seeks to determine

relationships between variables, explores causes of phenomena, tests

hypotheses and develops generalizations. On the other hand correlation

research according to David (2002), attempts to explain the possible factors

related to a problem which have been observed in a descriptive study. It

investigates relationships between factors or variables assumed to explain or

contribute to the existence of a problem or a certain condition. The

researcher believes that this design will be appropriate for the proposed

study because it will seek to determine relationships among variables.

Method

The Participants

The participants of this study are the tourism students of West Visayas

State University, College of Business and Management, Iloilo. The Slovin’s

formula is used to determine the sample size. The researcher will used the


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confidence level of 95 percent (giving a margin error of 0.05). The population

size is 180 and the margin error is 0.05 which is translated into formula.

After determining the sample size, the systematic stratified random

sampling technique will be utilized to determine the actual research

participants. A list of census of students will be obtained from the

organization Tourism Student Society of West Visayas State University,

College of Business and Management. From the sampling frame, a starting

point is chosen at random and thereafter at regular intervals.

The participants of the study will be the tourism students of West

Visayas State University, College of Business and Management.

The participants of the study are classified according to year level 1st to 4th

year, gender, socioeconomic status. The categories of variables are as

follows:

As to year level, participants are grouped as 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year and 4th

year. As to gender, male or female. As to socioeconomic status, whether with

low income ( below P16841), moderate income (P16841-P26841) and high

income (P26842) and above (National Statistical Coordination Board, 2009).

Table 1 shows the data.


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Table 1

Distribution of Participant

Category f %

A. Entire Group ___ 100

B. Year Level


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1st year

2nd year

3rd year

4th year

C. Sex

Male

Female

D. Socioeconomic Status

Low Income (below P16841)

Moderate Income (P16841-P26841)

High Income (P26842 and above)

Data Gathering Instruments

The data for this study will be gathered using a researcher-made

questionnaire. It is composed three parts. Part One, Personal Data, gathers

information about the respondent, such as year level and section, number of

siblings, gender and monthly family income.


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Part Two, Stress Test Questionnaire, is composed of fifteen (15) items

regarding the participant’s level of stress. The participants will be asked to

check the number from one to five in five responses: Never, Seldom,

Sometimes, Often and Always to describe their stress level. Then the total

number of their answer will be summed up and will be divided to the number

of test items to get the mean and to determine their stress level.

The mean scores will be obtained and will be interpreted in the

following manner:

Response Score

Super Stress 1 – 2

Stress 3 – 4

Unstressed 4 – 5

Part Three, Stress Management questionnaire, this test is composed of

different stress management in thirty (30) items. The participants will be

asked to

check the most accurate number that express their feelings in each item.

Then their answer will be summed up and will be divided to the number of

test items.


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The mean scores will be obtained and will be interpreted in the following

manner:

Response Score

5 Completely True

4 Mostly True

3 Partly True

2 Rarely True

1 Not True

The research instrument will be submitted to face and content validity

to a panel of evaluators composed of a research expert, a statistician, a

grammarian and a professional specializing in such field. The comments and

suggestions of the validators will be incorporated in the final English version,

which will be translated into local dialect for better comprehension of the

questions by the participants.

A reliability test will be done using a test – retest method. This involves

the same test twice to the same group of individuals after a certain time has

elapsed. A test or any measuring device is reliable if it consistently yields the

same or nearly the same score an individual taking the test several times. If

the coefficient is significant, the instrument is reliable (David, 2005). The

instrument will be administered between a one week span among six (6) (5%


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of the sample size) students with the characteristics similar to that of the

target population but not included as the participants of the study. The

Cronbach Alpha will be computed to determine the reliability of the

instrument.

Method

Permission to conduct the study will be secured from the office of the

Dean of the College of Business and Managementof West Visayas State

University.

Informed consent will be secured from the participants and only those

who gave their consent will be taken as participants. The participants will be

then given at least thirty (30)

minutes to answer the questionnaire. The direction of filling up of the

personal data sheet will be explained thoroughly by the researcher.

The researcher will personally distribute the questionnaire to the

participants.

Upon the retrieval of the accomplished questionnaires, the data will be

tallied, computer-processed and interpreted.

Data Analysis Procedure


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The data that will be gathered for this study will be subjected to the

following descriptive and inferential statistical treatments using Statistical

Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software:

Mean. The mean will be used, basing on the corresponding value

equivalent to the answers, to ascertain the level of perceptions toward

international on-the-job training program

Standard deviation.To determine the dispersion of means.

Manna – Whitney U Test This will be used to find out the significant

differences between variables year level and section, year level, gender,

monthly family income.

Knuskal – Wallis Test. This will be used to ascertain significant

differences between variable (socioeconomic status) and perceptions toward

international on-the-job training program.

Spearmen Who. To determine the significant relationship among the

students’ level of perception


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Abousiere, 1994

Agolla, 2009

Agolla and Awino, 2008

Brantley and Thomson, 1995

Divinagracia, Ma. Donna B. et. al. (2002). Stress and Stress Coping

Mechanisms Bachelor of Secondary Education. Unpublished Thesis, University

of Negros Occidental – Recoletos – Bacolod City.

Sevilla, et al, 1992

Topper, 2007

Tweed, et al, 2004

Ussery, 2007


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Please encircle the number corresponding to your responses. How often do you do the following?

Almost Infre Some Fre Almost

Never quently times quently Always

1. I can recognize anxiety and keep

it from interfering with my daily 1 2 3 4 5

activities.

2. I relax my mind and body without 1 2 3 4 5

using drugs.

3. I respect my own accomplishment. 1 2 3 4 5

4. I get enough satisfying sleep. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I enjoy my life. 1 2 3 4 5

6. I fall asleep in 20 minutes or less. 1 2 3 4 5

7. l sleep soundly at night. 1 2 3 4 5

8. I take enough time to eat. 1 2 3 4 5

9. I am in control and not feeling

hyper with mind and body going 1 2 3 4 5

too fast.


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10. I can make decisions without 1 2 3 4 5

difficulty.

Please express freely how you cope stress by truthfully answering the items. Encircle the number that most accurately reflects your feelings. Use this key

5 Completely True

4 Mostly True

3 Partly True

2 Rarely True

1 Not True

A.

1. I did something, which I did not 1 2 3 4

5

think would work, but at least I

was doing something.

2. I try to get the person 1 2 3 4 5

responsible to change his or

her mind.

3. I express anger to the person(s) 1 2 3 4

5


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who caused the problem.

4. I let my feeling out somehow. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I stood my ground and fought for 1 2 3 4

5

what I wanted.

6. I took a big chance and did 1 2 3 4 5

something very risky

B.

1. I went along with faith sometimes 1 2 3 4

5 I just have bad lucks.

2. I went on as if nothing had 1 2 3 4 5

happened.

3. I looked for the silver lining, so to speak; 1 2 3 4

5 tried to look on the bright side of

things.

4. I tried to forget the whole thing. 1 2 3 4

5

5. I did not let it get me; refused 1 2 3 4

5 to think about it too much.

6. I made light on the situations 1 2 3 4

5 refused to get serious about it.

C.


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1. I tried to keep my feeling to 1 2 3 4

5 myself.

2. I kept others from knowing how 1 2 3 4

5 bad things were.

3. I tried to keep my feelings 1 2 3 4

5 from interfering from others

to much.

4. I went over in my mind what 1 2 3 4

5 I would say or

do.

5. I thought about how a person 1 2 3 4

5 I admire would handle the

situation and use that as model.

6. I tried not to act too hastily 1 2 3 4 5

follow my first hunch.

7. I tried not to burn my bridges, 1 2 3 4 5 but leave things open somewhat.

D.

1. I accepted sympathy and 1 2 3 4 5

understanding from someone.

2. I got professional help. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I talked to someone who

could do something concrete 1 2 3 4 5

about the problem.


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4. I asked relative or a friend 1 2 3 4 5

I respect for advice.

5. I talked to someone about 1 2 3 4 5

how I am feeling.

6. I talked to someone to find 1 2 3 4 5

out more about the situation.

E.

1. I hoped a miracle would happen. 1 2 3 4

5

2. I avoided being with people in general. 1 2 3 4

5

3. I had fantasies or wishes

about how things might turn out. 1 2 3 4

5

4. I wish that situation would go

away or somehow be over it. 1 2 3 4

5

5. I refused to believe that it 1 2 3 4

5 had happened.


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6. I slept more than usual. 1 2 3 4

5

F.

1. I was inspired to do something 1 2 3 4

5 creative.

2. I changed and grew as a 1 2 3 4

5 person in a good way.

3. Rediscovered what is 1 2 3 4

5 important in life.

4. I changed something 1 2 3 4

5 about myself.

5. I came out of the experiences 1 2 3 4

5 better than I went in.

6. I prayed. 1 2 3 4 5


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Documents

Thesis for Tourism Students