Cognitive Stress Experienced by University Undergraduates in South West Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated cognitive stress experienced by University undergraduates in SouthWest Nigeria. The design for the study was descriptive research of the survey type. The population consisted of all the Universities in South West Nigeria.A sample size of one hundred thousand, one hundred and ten students were selected for the study by stratified and random sampling techniques. An instrument in form of  questionnaire titled “Cognitive Stress rating scale” designed and validated by Akinleye and Arowolo(2008) was used to collect data from the respondents. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. One research question was raised, two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Results from the finding showed that there is significant difference in the cognitive stress experienced by students in different faculties and that the level of stress was highest in the faculty of science. The study also revealed that crowded lecture periods, lack of hostels on the campus, distance from place of residence to the campus, insufficient seats in the library, examination phobia and poor study habits were sources of stress on the university campuses. Counselling implications were enumerated and recommendations were made.

Keywords: Cognitive stress