A Comparison of Stress Levels Between Traditional and Non-Traditional Students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a traditional college student (ages 18-24) vs. a non-traditional student (ages 25 and over) described more stress in their lives based on different variables in their environment. Two research questions were used: R1- Is there a difference in stress levels based on traditional and non-traditional status. R2- What variables appear to affect the stress levels of traditional and non-traditional students? Some of these different variables include: status as a student, number of jobs worked, number of children, extracurricular activities such as sports or hobbies, and the amount of time students had to see friends. Forty four undergraduate students (N=44) at Montana Tech University and Highlands College of Montana Tech University completed a questionnaire consisting of closed ended questions. When looking at stress levels between my sample of twenty six traditional students and eighteen non-traditional students, non-traditional students seemed to b