Does ethnicity and student year affect perceived stress of academic courses and coping mechanisms used?

Abstract Background: Stress caused by academic courses places a major burden on college students. Long term, or chronic stress, can lead to severe health complications later in life. The objective of the study looks at the intersection of ethnicity and academic year in relations to coping strategies and perceived academic stress in college students’ lives. The aim is to use this study to provide knowledge on how coping mechanisms differ throughout ethnicities by utilizing convenience samples and a cross sectional study design for analysis. Methods: Twenty to fifty undergraduate college students will be surveyed around the Kennesaw State University campus at varying days and times. These students will take a survey on Qualtrics that is 24 questions long. This survey is a version of the Perceived Stress Scale and Brief COPE Scale. The Perceived Stress Scale will examine the thoughts and feelings of academic stress among students, and the Brief COPE scale will examine if students use emotion, problem, or avoidant focus coping for academic stress. These scales will investigate if different ethnicities have more perceived academic stress and how they cope. Results: Researchers hypothesize that ethnicity and student year do affect perceived stress of academic courses and the types of coping mechanisms chosen. It is expected that marginalized ethnicities further in their studies may experience additional stress compared to non-minority ethnicities. Conclusions: This study hopes to close a gap by focusing on perceived academic stress and coping strategies in different ethnicities. Keywords: Perceived Stress, Coping Strategies, Ethnicity, Academics, Colleg