Psychophysiological Manifestations Associated With Stress in Students of a Public University in Mexico

PROBLEM Academic stress is defined as a physiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral activation reaction to stimuli. This stress can impact students’ ability to cope with the school environment. OBJECTIVE To identify the psychophysiological manifestations associated with high‐level academic stress in public university students in Mexico. METHODS A representative random sampling of 527 students was evaluated during 2012. The Academic Stress Symptom Inventory and the Rossi classification were used; data were analyzed with a binary logistic regression analysis to estimate association between psychophysiological manifestations and the high level of academic stress in public university students. FINDINGS Results indicated a meaningful association between high levels of academic stress situations and psychophysiological manifestations such as concentration and memory problems, mental blocks and chronic fatigue, drowsiness, and despair. CONCLUSION Identifying academic stress situations and students’ maladaptive responses may help promote timely attention to psychophysiological manifestations before they exacerbate and become harmful to college students’ health.