Cause and Effects of Stress on First-Year College Students - Essay Example

Stress in first-year students is caused by several factors and results in various effects. Stress in first-year college students is instigated by a variety of factors. First, Landow believes that separation from the family is one of the main causes of stress in freshmen (110).

In addition, the students are required to make new decisions and make initial changes to the academic environment. Moreover, they are affected by new experiences such as conflicts with roommates due to differences in personality, new social life changes, and values exploration, which consequently may lead to the development of stress. Likewise, the new students face steep competition from their peers, and similarly, most find themselves under peer pressure to try out new habits such as sex, drugs along with drinking.

As a result, the freshmen face several consequences. Landow purports that stress in first-year college students is highly associated with generalized anxiety (231). More importantly, it causes depression, and irritability, together with insomnia and nightmares. Besides this, some college freshmen complain of frequent fatigue that is accompanied by loss of appetite which is believed to originate from stress. More importantly, stress often leads to a decrease in the productivity of the students, subsequently aggravating the stress and therefore influencing a downward spiral.