# 5 Effective strategies to relieve stress for students enrolled in online learning programs.

Topic

Effective strategies to relieve stress for students enrolled in online learning programs.

Introduction

Hook: Taking any class is already a source of stress. Taking a class online, without the benefits of the human interaction that a classroom provides, can make it even more stressful!

Background Information: The current global pandemic has turned online learning programs from a convenience that some students chose to a necessity. But this has come with added stress to the students. In one study, 69.8% of students reported feeling stressed with online classes (Raj & Fatima, 2020).

Problem Statement: Students may feel stress because of deadlines, isolation, and feeling left to their own time.

Research Question: What are the most effective strategies to relieve stress for students enrolled in online learning programs?

Hypothesis: Time management tactics, meditation, and sensible goal setting can probably reduce stress.

Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to show effective stress management techniques that can reduce the problem and help online learners achieve success.

Literature Review

Existing literature includes a number of studies that have explored different strategies for managing stress. Most of these studies draw to a common conclusion, college students are predisposed to undermanaged stress and its detrimental effects. In a study conducted by (Bistricky et al., 2018), college students were found to be susceptible to uncontrolled stress and its negative impacts, and though they could utilize SRTs to remedy this, many do not. The study offers a framework through which institutions can better serve students that are taking online classes.

One such intervention was evaluated in a study by Hintz et al., (2016) to evaluate an online stress management intervention for college students identifies various effective techniques that reduce stress in online learners. The study focused on present control intervention as it is linked with a number of positive outcomes such as, lower levels of anxiety, melancholy, and trauma, controlling for various other variables. The mediation analyses performed in this study revealed that the effects of stress occurred due to modifications in present control.

The other intervention was evaluated by (Aslani, Aslani, & Ravangard, et al., 2020), whereby the authors developed a web application and establish how it impacted college students’ stress management. The study centered on developing a web based application that could have the capability to build a helpful media for stress management, lead to better sleep, and offering data concerning the efficiency of tactics of stress amongst college students with higher levels of stress. It was hypothesized that the web application can significantly lower the levels of stress, with better quality of sleep among college students. It also encourages healthy behaviors among targeted students. Overall, the web application delivers a number of psychosocial tactics for coping with stress and issues related to health. The study offers knowledge on the effectiveness of using web applications for managing stress, during the pandemic as seen in Iranian college students. College students working online due to the pandemic can utilize the application to learn the execution of techniques and strategies offered to manage their stress.

There are multiple stress coping strategies for distance learning students. A study by Kwaah & Essillfie (2017) was devised to identify stress causes and stress coping strategies adopted among distance education students at the College of Distance Education in the University of Cape Coast. The study utilized a self-admnistered questionnaire, which was adapted to suit the study-context. It was evaluated to make sure it elicited responses that are valid. The study outcomes indicated that students applied diverse stress coping strategies including, praying/meditating, and self-distracting activities like listening to music and watching television. Other essential strategies for coping with stress were emotional and helpful support from family, lecturers, and friends. This study offers sress coping sttrategies that students taken online classes can adapt to manage their stress.

The unexpected modification from the traditional classroom learning to virtual learning has disrupted students. A study by Chandra (2020) analyzed the academic stress perceptions of students working online during the pandemic and how they utilized emotional intelligence to cope with the stress. The study revealed that most students began to divert themselves to multiple creative activities to cope with stress. They also began to take up courses that helped them to discover novel technical skills. Students tried to cope with depressing effects caused by the pandemic through using emotional intelligence and distancing themselves from dipressive thoughts and boredom.

Research method

A meta-analysis methodology was used in this study, to synthesize different results found between several studies. The MRU virtual library was used to access all the available research through the EBSCOhost databases. In advanced search, the following keywords were used: "Students", “Stress Management,” and “Online Classes". A limitation was set for research published within the last 5 years from February 2016 to February 2021 with articles published in English but from several global sources such as India and Iran as well as the United States. The search provided access to 102 articles of which 5 were chosen based on relevance and 97 were discarded.

References:

Bistricky, S. L., Harper, K. L., Roberts, C. M., Cook, D. M., Schield, S. L., Bui, J., & Short, M.

B. (2018). Understanding and promoting stress management practices among college students through an integrated health behavior model. American Journal of Health Education, 49(1), 12–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2017.1377651

Hintz, S., Frazier, P. A., & Meredith, L. (2016). Evaluating an online stress management

intervention for college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(2), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000014

Khademian, F., Aslani, A., Ravangard, R., Bastani, P., Nami, M., & Jafari, P. (2020). Efficacy of

a web application for stress management among Iranian college students during COVID-19 outbreak: a study protocol for randomized controlled trials. Trials, 21(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04949-0

Raj, U. Fatima, A. (2020) Stress in students after lockdown due to COVID-19 threat and the

effects of attending online classes. SSRN. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3584220 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3584220

Walden University. (2020) 9 Stress Management Tips for Successful Online Learning.

Walden.edu.

https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/resource/nine-stress-management-tips-for-successful online-learning

Results

The table below breaks down the main topics that were addressed in each article and their relationship to the topic to be investigated. The chosen criteria were IBS affecting quality of women’s life, age, and the signs and symptoms of stress.

Criterium 1: IBS Affecting Quality of Women’s Life

Ballou (2017) states that IBS decreases the quality of women life and increases the difficulty of engaging in daily activities affecting mental and physical functioning. Choghakhori (2017) refers to abdominal rumbling, flatulence, and dissatisfaction with bowel habits. For his part, Pletikosić (2017) exposes the disparity between the women self-expectations and their actual performance. Furthermore, Shahabi (2016) discusses abdominal pain severity and visceral sensitivity. Stawik (2019) sustains that IBS decreases in body image and sexual activity.

Criterium 2: Women’s Age

On one side, Ballou (2017), Choghakhori (2017), Pletikosić (2017), and Shahabi (2016) chose for their research women aged between 35 to 45 years. On the other side, Stawik (2019) researched women between 19 and 50 years old.

Criterium 3: Sign and Symptoms

Sign and symptoms of stress, depression, anxiety, and panic disorder were common terms for the five articles.            

Relationship Between Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Stress in Women Between 35-45 Years.
	Criterium 1	Criterium 2	Criterium 3
	IBS affecting Quality of Women Life	Women age	Sign and Symptoms of Stress
Art. 1 Ballou (2017)	. Low quality of life. . Difficulty engaging in daily activities affecting mental and physical functioning. . Avoidance of activities like household chores, socializing, and sexual intercourse due to abdominal pain.	. Mean age 35.54 years old.	. Depression. . Anxiety. . Panic disorder.
Art. 2 Choghakhori (2017)	. Greater of abdominal distention, rumbling, flatulence, and dissatisfaction with bowel habits. . Impaired quality of life.	. Mean age 38.08 years old	. Depression moods. . High levels of anxiety. . Fatigue. . Interference with body image.  . Avoidance sexual relationships.
Art. 3 Pletikosić (2017)	. Disparity between their self-expectations and their actual performance. . Higher levels of suffering.	. Mean age 45.33 years old	. Increased levels of anxiety. . Psychiatric comorbidities.
Art. 4 Shahabi (2016)	. Abdominal pain severity. . Visceral sensitivity. . Negative affect.	. Mean age 36 years old	. Depressed mood.  . Anxiety. . Persistent fatigue.
Art. 5 Stawik (2019)	. Decreased quality of life. . Significant decrease in body image, health worry, social relations, sexual and relationship. . Pain accompanying sexual activity.	. Women age between 19-50 years old.	. Anxiety disorder  . Clinical depression

Table 1: Relationship Between Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Stress in Women Between 35-45 Years.

Discussion

The from the meta-analysis of the selected article supported the expected hypothesis. The findings showed significant similarity in the stress coping strategies. It was found that there are multiple stress coping strategies with beneficial outcomes that can be utilized by students taking online classes. Each strategy had its own benefit of alleviating stress leading to better physical and mental health.

The expected hypothesis was that time management tactics, meditation, and sensible goal setting can possibly reduce stress. In a study done by Kwaah & Essillfie, (2017), medidating was found among the strategies that students used to cope with stress. This is consistent with findings of a study done by Hintz, et al., (2016) whereby meditation was found among the strategies that distance learning students use to manage their stress. There were diverse stress management strategies adopted by each group of students, but most of the stress management strategies adopted had some similarities.

The results from this study are consistent with previous studies done on same themes. In a study done by Chandra (2020), students working online were found to apply emotional intelligence and diverting themselves to multiple creative activities. The cumulative information guide us to the most effective tips for successful online learning, as recommended by Walden University in their article “9 Stress Management Tips for Successful Online Learning,” found at Walden.edu. The cumulative data offers adequate information to decide how to best help online students reach their goals without being affected by stress.

Limitations and Implications

The study suffered some limitations. The databases containing the key words and language used in the search were limited. Due to the limited time of publication for the selected articles, few articles were identified falling within the targeted periods. Some of the articles identified denied access to full text. It was for this reason that in the articles investigated, the researcher only found few stress management strategies offered based on the group of students assessed. The findings of this paper will be useful to evaluate and propose multiple stress management strategies that can be applied by students taking online classes during the pandemic. The findings will also be beneficial to understand the academic stress experienced by students taking online classes, and how educational modification would be implemented to help these students reach their goals.

Conclusion

The sudden shift to online learning has caused stress in students taking online classes. This would affect the student’s learning capacity, and academic performance, thus preventing them from reaching their goals. If students cannot manage stress, their physical and mental health will be adversely affected. Thus, the the most effective tips for successful online learning provided will increase student’s management skills and abilities, which is an essential target for change.