The Contribution of Stress Level, Coping Styles and Personality Traits to International Students ’ Academic Performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate how stress level, coping styles and personality traits contribute to international students ' academic performance. Participants comprised of 100 international students across undergraduate and postgraduate levels from universities in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were aged 18 to 40 years old. Using a single sample survey design, all 100 participants completed a background information sheet, the Coping Skills Inventory, the Social Avoidance Distress Scale and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised for Adults. Ten participants volunteered to be interviewed. The interview was audio-taped. There were three hypotheses for this research. The first hypothesis predicted that stress level, coping styles and the personality traits of neuroticism, tough-mindedness and extraversion would explain the variation in grades of the international students. The second hypothesis predicted that the personality traits of neuroticism, tough-mindedness and extraversion would explain coping styles. The third hypothesis predicted that gender would affect coping styles and personality traits of neuroticism, tough-mindedness and extraversion. The results for the second and third hypotheses were presented and discussed. The discussion considered the difficulties faced by international students. Key Words: International students, stress, coping style, personalit