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- All Subjects: Academic Stress
- Creators: Aoki, Stephanie
- Creators: Sarma, Arti
Description
Academic achievement among Asians has been widely recognized in the literature, but the costs of this success may be tied to significant mental health consequences. Three samples of undergraduate students in India were recruited from cities such as Chennai, Kerala, and Delhi totaling 608 (303 male, 301 females). Both online and in class recruitment occurred.
There were three main purposes of this study: 1) to construct a quantitative measure of parental pressure, 2) to evaluate whether self-esteem was a potential buffer of the negative impacts of parental pressure and academic stress, and 3) to understand better the factors impacting suicidality among adolescents in India by testing a path model of possible predictors suggested by the literature. Prevalence data of suicidal ideation and attempt history were also collected. Reporting on their experience over the past six months, 14.5% (n = 82) of the participants endorsed suicidal ideation and 12.3% (n = 69) of the participants admitted to having deliberately attempted to hurt or kill themselves.
Five constructs were explored in this study: parental pressure, academic stress, depression, suicidality, and self-esteem. The Parental Pressure for Success Scale, designed for this study, was used to measure parental pressure. The Educational Stress Scale-Adolescents was used to measure academic stress. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale was used to measure depressive symptomology. Two items from the Youth Self-Report Checklist were used as a measure of suicidality in the past six months. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was used to measure global self-esteem.
Preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the Parental Pressure for Success Scale was found. While self-esteem was not a significant moderator in this study, it was a predictor of both stress and depression. Results of the path analysis indicated that parental pressure predicted academic stress, stress predicted depression, and depression predicted suicidality. Parental pressure indirectly predicted suicidality through academic stress and depression. Results were discussed in the context of cultural influences on study findings such as the central role of parents in the family unit, the impact of cultural valuing of education, collectivistic society, and the Hindu concept of dharma, or duty.
There were three main purposes of this study: 1) to construct a quantitative measure of parental pressure, 2) to evaluate whether self-esteem was a potential buffer of the negative impacts of parental pressure and academic stress, and 3) to understand better the factors impacting suicidality among adolescents in India by testing a path model of possible predictors suggested by the literature. Prevalence data of suicidal ideation and attempt history were also collected. Reporting on their experience over the past six months, 14.5% (n = 82) of the participants endorsed suicidal ideation and 12.3% (n = 69) of the participants admitted to having deliberately attempted to hurt or kill themselves.
Five constructs were explored in this study: parental pressure, academic stress, depression, suicidality, and self-esteem. The Parental Pressure for Success Scale, designed for this study, was used to measure parental pressure. The Educational Stress Scale-Adolescents was used to measure academic stress. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale was used to measure depressive symptomology. Two items from the Youth Self-Report Checklist were used as a measure of suicidality in the past six months. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was used to measure global self-esteem.
Preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the Parental Pressure for Success Scale was found. While self-esteem was not a significant moderator in this study, it was a predictor of both stress and depression. Results of the path analysis indicated that parental pressure predicted academic stress, stress predicted depression, and depression predicted suicidality. Parental pressure indirectly predicted suicidality through academic stress and depression. Results were discussed in the context of cultural influences on study findings such as the central role of parents in the family unit, the impact of cultural valuing of education, collectivistic society, and the Hindu concept of dharma, or duty.
ContributorsSarma, Arti (Author) / Robinson-Kurpius, Sharon (Thesis advisor) / Kinnier, Richard (Committee member) / Homer, Judith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Despite high levels of academic achievement as a group (Ryan & Bauman, 2016), Asian American students face many challenges, including academic stress (Flatt, 2013; Liu, 2002) and depression (Aczon-Armstrong, Inouye, & Reyes-Salvail, 2013; Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). The purpose of this study was to examine self-beliefs (academic self-efficacy and independent self-construal) and family and cultural variables (perceived parental expectations for academic achievement and internalization of the model minority myth) that may affect the academic stress and depression experienced by Asian American undergraduates.
A national sample of 314 participants (221 female, 89 male, 4 nonbinary) who self-identified as Asian American undergraduates were recruited online and through word of mouth. They completed assessments of six constructs: Academic self-efficacy, independent self-construal, perceived parental expectations for academic achievement, internalization of the model minority myth, academic stress, and depression.
Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that of the two self-beliefs, only academic self-efficacy was a predictor of academic stress and depression. The greater the students’ academic self-efficacy, the less academic stress and depression they reported. Independent self-construal was not a significant predictor. Additionally, perceived parental expectations for academic achievement also predicted academic stress and depression. The more students perceived that their parents had high expectations for their academic achievement, the more they experienced academic stress and depression. The cultural variable, internalization of the model minority myth, was not a predictor of academic stress or depression. A moderated hierarchical regression examining whether academic self-efficacy and independent self-construal moderated the relation between perceived parental expectations for academic achievement and academic stress and depression revealed no moderation effects.
The importance of academic self-efficacy is discussed in the context of cognitive theory that posits that thoughts and beliefs affect behaviors and emotions. In addition, cognitive theory is used to explain perceived parental expectations for academic achievement, as these are perceptions and beliefs about others, as related to one’s self. That the internalization of the model minority myth was not related to depression and academic stress is discussed. Limitations and clinical implications for working with Asian Americans with academic stress and depression are also discussed.
A national sample of 314 participants (221 female, 89 male, 4 nonbinary) who self-identified as Asian American undergraduates were recruited online and through word of mouth. They completed assessments of six constructs: Academic self-efficacy, independent self-construal, perceived parental expectations for academic achievement, internalization of the model minority myth, academic stress, and depression.
Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that of the two self-beliefs, only academic self-efficacy was a predictor of academic stress and depression. The greater the students’ academic self-efficacy, the less academic stress and depression they reported. Independent self-construal was not a significant predictor. Additionally, perceived parental expectations for academic achievement also predicted academic stress and depression. The more students perceived that their parents had high expectations for their academic achievement, the more they experienced academic stress and depression. The cultural variable, internalization of the model minority myth, was not a predictor of academic stress or depression. A moderated hierarchical regression examining whether academic self-efficacy and independent self-construal moderated the relation between perceived parental expectations for academic achievement and academic stress and depression revealed no moderation effects.
The importance of academic self-efficacy is discussed in the context of cognitive theory that posits that thoughts and beliefs affect behaviors and emotions. In addition, cognitive theory is used to explain perceived parental expectations for academic achievement, as these are perceptions and beliefs about others, as related to one’s self. That the internalization of the model minority myth was not related to depression and academic stress is discussed. Limitations and clinical implications for working with Asian Americans with academic stress and depression are also discussed.
ContributorsAoki, Stephanie (Author) / Robinson Kurpius, Sharon E. (Thesis advisor) / Tran, Alisia G.-T. (Committee member) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019