Analysis of the Stress on International Students - Literature review Example

? Stress on international (UK) Literature Review Stress on International (UK) Introduction An Understanding of Stress In the words of Cartwright & Cooper, “Stress is derived from the Latin word stringere, meaning to draw tight, and was used in the 17th century to describe hardships or affliction (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997: 3) According to Cunningham, “definition of stress suggests that some stimuli or force acts on us and causes us to react positively or negatively.” (Cunningham, 2000:8) Stress encompasses umpteenth number of external forces leading to tension which when crosses one’s limit to withstand, results into a collapse (Cunningham, 2000:8). The principal causes of stress are change, insufficient control and high work pressure (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997: 2). Stress affects us physically, mentally and emotionally (Stress Management, n.d.). A physically stressed person can experience a faster heart beat, muscle tension, dry mouth, over breathing, breathlessness or other signals which can lead to headaches, dizziness, insomnia or jaw ache (Stress Management, n.d.). A mentally affected individual may become confused, indecisive or negative thinker while an emotionally stressed person can appear frustrated, irritated, panic-stricken, impatient, sadist or depressed (Stress Management, n.d.). It has become a common practise in the UK to take time off from work and apply for stress leave by the acute sufferers of stress (Cunningham, 2000:19). In the Terri Landon case, Terri who was a training in a government office, felt unwanted in her workplace and claimed for stress leave and remained on reduced time at work for more than a year without compromising her full remuneration (Cunningham, 2000:19). The effect of stress is not only faced by an individual but by the entire nation too (Stress: The Effects, 2001). As per the BBC report on 25th June, 2001, almost 270,000 people take time off from their regular work due to illness driven by stress giving way to absenteeism which cost the UK an amount not less than ?10.2bn in the year 2000 (Stress: The Effects, 2001). Effects of Stress: A Costly Affair The long term consequences of stress can be overtly expensive. From giving birth to stomach ulcers and rise in high blood pressure to encouraging heart diseases and strokes, the results of stress can be costly (Stress: The Effects, 2001). It has a high potential of developing over-indulgencing habits such as overeating, limitless drinking and smoking, all of which are well known for their evil effects on the body (Stress: The Effects, 2001). Moreover, illness like insomnia or depression, nervous breakdown and reduced work performance are mostly driven by stress (Stress: The Effects, 2001). Further, stress is also considered to be responsible for a woman’s complete stoppage or severe irregularity of stress or even her capacity to conceive (Stress: The Effects, 2001). As per the BBC reports, “In the NHS, the government has had to introduce a “zero tolerance” campaign to try to reduce the number of attacks, and amount of verbal abuse heaped on staff” (Stress: The Effects, 2001). In the ISMA Conference 2009, Dame Carole Black revealed that workplace stress is as expensive as ?100bn (ISMA). Moreover, as per the Labour Force Survey, “Estimates indicate that self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for an estimated 13.5 million lost working days in Britain in 2007/08 (ISMA). The three best ways of fighting out stress as suggested by Cunningham include the lessening of stress forces, the increasing of one’s capacity to resist damage and the understanding of the early signs of stress thereby being alert in advance to combat it (Cunningham, 2000:8). Role of Stress on International Students Both local and international students face a lot of complex situations such as examinations, deadlines, poor time management, uncontrollable debts and other cases which lead to undue stress (Stress Management, n.d.). International students are considered to be the sufferers of academic stress specially the students from abroad admitted in the universities of the Unites States or Australia. Most foreign students studying in the United States have to face a number of demands and the intense struggle to meet the demands leaves them stressed out (Wan, Chapman & Biggs, 1992). In an interview a Taiwanese student says, “I have to face with a lot of assignments this term. I am trying my best for studying. Unfortunately, at the moment, I have stress at all. I am so stressed now. I cannot even concentrate on the first assignment. Meanwhile the deadline of this assignment will be coming next week. I am so worried about that. I need help, I’m scared, very scared.” (Brown, n.d.:8). “I get a little bit nervous on doing my assignment because you know because of the language. For me I’m not confident enough because my English not good enough. The grammar is not so good, something like that, vocabulary is not….. I mean it’s not like the native speaker, something like that. Before I left I took an English course, something like that. Because me very nervous. Oh my god! ‘oh k I have to do this”, says an Indonesian student (Brown, n.d.:16). The three major factors that lead to stress for the international students studying in the US have been summed up as: 1) unachievable academic results, 2) lack of finance and support for research and graduate assistantships, and c) barriers in terms of culture and language (Landow, 2006:99). Cultural distance and self-perceived English language skills are dominant stress derivatives amongst other factors like the social support network of the students, the academic strength, the problem solving capacity and the role competencies of the students Wan, Chapman & Biggs, 1992). Understanding the Stress Factors for International Students “Culture shock can be characterised as both a process within cross-cultural transition and as a syndrome of stress” (Arthur, 2003: 26). This occurs when an international student finds himself or herself in a completely new cultural atmosphere and tries hard to adapt to this new cultural set-up which is obscurely distinct from one’s native culture Arthur, 2003 :26). The panic of cultural difference accompanied with the anxiety to cope with it, brings stress for the students Arthur, 2003 :26). The study-abroad students have to combat a series of challenges in terms of transition and adjustment which their fellow students do not have to face (Landis, Bennett & Bennett, 2004: 292). What is most difficult for these students is to quickly adapt to the new ambience without loosing focus on academic performance (Landis, Bennett & Bennett, 2004: 292). “International students are expected to learn and adjust rather rapidly to the social norms and roles that the new environment imposes on them if they are to be successful in their academic endeavours (Landis, Bennett & Bennett, 2004: 292). Some scholars support the fact that the foreign students studying in the United States are looked upon as cultural and economic resources to add to the Americans’ lives as they have comparatively lesser educational, language and intellectual skills with hardly any knowledge of the American educational system (Cuyjet, Hamilton & Cooper, 2010: 244). When talking about the cultural differences, “ Social customs and ways of communicating may be out of place and contribute to an international student’s frustration. In some instances, international students exacerbate the stress that results from these factors” Cuyjet, Hamilton & Cooper, 2010: 244). When talking about international students studying in Australia, scholars associate the feelings of discomfort, dislocation and distress with stress imposed on them (Thomson, Rosenthal & Russel, 2006:7). Most of the these students are found to become the victims of homesickness and distress because of missing their families, friends and similar things which they are devoid of on the foreign terraa firma (Thomson, Rosenthal & Russel, 2006:7). Loneliness and the feelings of unimportance and lack of connectedness make these students feel stressed (Thomson, Rosenthal & Russel, 2006:7). Another major cause of concern for these students is the feeling of lack of belonging at the university (Thomson, Rosenthal & Russel, 2006:8). This is experienced mostly by the Asian students (Thomson, Rosenthal & Russel, 2006:8). Upon interviewing some of the international students about stress, here is what they had to say about their assignments. “So this was how it was, face to face with the future – being alone, having no-one to talk to, being afraid of the city and training college and teaching, and having to pretend that I was not alone, that I had many people to talk to, that I felt at home... and that teaching was what I had longed to do all my life.” (“How to Cope with the Stress”, n.d.). “It is difficult to work on assignments in the U.K as there is such a big difference between the Japanese and U.K style of approaching an essay, for example, the Japanese will take a long time making a point and will only go to indirectly, whereas the U.K style seems to be answering the question with supporting evidence” says a Japanese student (Brown, n.d.:11). Conclusion The acting of a force in an individual forcing him or her to react negatively or positively is considered as stress. Stress can be looked upon the as the collapse which takes place when an external factor goes beyond one’s capacity to control. It can be source of major illness in the long run ranging from headache, stomach ulcer, high blood pressure to depression, nervous breakdown and stroke. Overindulgence like overeating and excessive smoking and drinking are also considered as sings of stress. Apart from being a personal loss, stress can be the cause of loss to the entire country. Of late, the trend of taking time off from work and claiming stress leave has revealed to be harmful for the nation’s economy. Students enrolled in institutes of foreign countries are found to be trapped in stress. The innumerable factors of such stress include differences in language, culture and the intense struggle to adapt to these new set-ups. Looked upon as individuals of inferior academic, analytical and language skills, the international students are found to be wrapped with the feelings of lack of finance, confidence and belonging. Not only the social customs and ways of communications are found to be different for such students, they are looked down as just another resource, cultural and economic for the betterment of the lives of the Americans. Moreover, the feelings of homesickness, loneliness, unimportance and the lack of social network, contribute to the stress of the international students. Bibliography Arthur, Nancy. (2003). “Culture Shock as a Syndrome of Stress”. Counseling International Students: Clients from Around the World (International and Cultural Psychology). Springer:2 6. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KMr_i1yxkOUC&pg=PA26&dq=stress+on+international+student&hl=en&ei=YGKUTcOzBsikcfGzxa4H&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=stress%20on%20international%20student&f=false accessed on 31st Mar, 2011 Brown, Lorraine. (n.d.). “The Incidence of study-related stress in international students in the initial stage of the international sojourn”. , accessed on 28th Mar 2011. Pg 8-16. Cartwright, S. & Cooper, C. (2007). Managing Workplace Stress. Sage, UK:2-3 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Sz8dNR9NmkkC&dq=managing+workplace+stress+susan+cartwright+and+cary+l.+cooper+sage+publications&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=NjCUTZTdFojTrQfjxcT2Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CGAQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q&f=false accessed on 31st Mar, 2011 Cunningham, J. (2000). The Stress Management Sourcebook. Lowell House: 8 & 19 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FW4IENC2NaIC&pg=PA8&dq=definition+of+stress&hl=en&ei=kTOUTdy6DIfnrAfkjvTiCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=definition%20of%20stress&f=false accessed on 31st Mar, 2011 Cuyjet, M., Hamilton, F. & Cooper, D. (2010). Multiculturalism on Campus: Theory, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion. Stylus Publishing, U.S.: 244. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=G-yXqFNB5FcC&pg=PA244&dq=stress+on+international+student&hl=en&ei=YGKUTcOzBsikcfGzxa4H&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CHAQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=stress%20on%20international%20student&f=false accessed on 31st Mar, 2011 “How to Cope with the Stress of Student Life”. (n.d.). Mind: For Better Mental Health. http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/stress_of_student_life accessed on 1st Apr, 2011. International Stress Management Association UK (ISMA): Promoting Wellbeing and Stress Prevention. (n.d.). “Facts About Stress”. http://www.isma.org.uk/about-stress/facts-about-stress.html accessed on 1st Apr, 2011 Landis, D., Bennett, J. & Bennett M. (2004). Handbook of Intercultural Training. Sage Publications: 292 http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wjy02V19UwMC&oi=fnd&pg=PA289&dq=stressors+experienced+by+foreign+students+in+uk+universities&ots=r7Ta0rsTN9&sig=DQjiE-pU3QQqTcLX409KnMPJxjE#v=onepage&q&f=false accessed on 1st Apr, 2011. Landow, M. (2006). Stress and Mental Health of College Students. Nova Science Publishers Inc: 99. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=T4U0ZKtQkLUC&pg=PA99&dq=stress+on+international+student&hl=en&ei=YGKUTcOzBsikcfGzxa4H&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=stress%20on%20international%20student&f=false accessed on 31st Mar, 2011 “Stress Management”. (n.d.). Oxford Brookes University. http://www.brookes.ac.uk/student/services/health/stress.html accessed on 1st Apr, 2011 “Stress: The Effects”. (2001). BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1406880.stm accessed on 31st Mar, 2011 Thomson, G., Rosenthal, D. & Russell, J. (2006). “Cultural Stress Among International Students at an Australian University”. The University of Melbourne, Australia. http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aiec.idp.com%2Fpdf%2FThomson%2520(Paper)%2520Fri%25201050%2520MR5.pdf&rct=j&q=CULTURAL%20STRESS%20AMONG%20INTERNATIONAL%20STUDENTS%20AT%20AN%20AUSTRALIAN%20UNIVERSITY&ei=FsqUTfS0O4vMrQfb1OTuCw&usg=AFQjCNEbBvZk3HHq3zXdTedCYcKgu_40XQ&sig2=On6Rwum8MYD7N9ZluG02bw&cad=rja accessed on 31st Mar, 2011, Pg7-8 Wan, T., Chapman, D. & Biggs, D. (1992). Research in Higher Education: Academic Stress of International Students Attending U.S. Universities. 33 (5), Springerlink: 607-623 http://www.springerlink.com/content/t64mt15671626356/ accessed on 31st Mar, 2011 Read More