Adaptation to stress in psychology graduate students

Abstract

This study analyzed stress adaptation in university students, considering the role of cognitive appraisal in the relationship between stress and burnout during the test-ing season. A total of 187 students from a university in the northern region of Por-tugal participated in the study. In the total sample, 154 were female (82.4%) and 32 males (17.1%), aged between 17 and 41 years old (M = 20.72; SD = 3.28). The evaluation protocol included a Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Stress Ques-tionnaire for Students, the Primary and Secondary Cognitive Appraisal Scale, and the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. The results showed that 55.6% of the stu-dents perceived high-stress levels, mainly derived from academic evaluation and work overload. Cognitive appraisal mediated the relationship between the overall level of students' academic stress and the experience of burnout, mostly regarding physical fatigue and cognitive weariness. These findings reinforce the importance of considering the role of cognitive appraisal processes in understanding the dy-namics of stress adaptation among university students. To promote healthy educa-tional environments, we must attend to these effects regarding occupational safety and hygiene interventions within the academic context.