| dc.description.abstract | Academic and clinical coursework often leads to high levels of stress among undergraduates
specially during exam period, which may induce anxiety, depression and decreased
academic outcomes. Recognizing the need for improved stress management, this study
explored stress coping strategies used by nal year undergraduates of Faculty of Allied
Health Sciences, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (FAHS, KDU) which
could support them to e ectively manage stress especially during exam period. A qualitative
study using in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted face-face among 35
nal-year undergraduates using a purposive sampling method representing all degree
programs at FAHS, KDU. Ethical approval was obtained. Interviewer-administered questionnaire
was given to assess socio-demographic data and analysed using SPSS Version
23 software. Interview transcripts analysed using Thematic Analysis method. The study
participants were aged 22 to 27 years and the majority were females. Our ndings
revealed the following four themes, maladaptive, adaptive, social support, and active
coping strategies. Cigarette smoking, self-blame, venting as a temporary relief and giving
up falls under maladaptive coping strategies. Adaptive coping strategies gave rise to
four sub themes, such as engaging in religious activities, maintaining a positive and
refreshing mindset as positive reframing, avoiding distractions as self-control, accepting
real situations as acceptance. Social support includes Psychological, emotional and peer
support. Active coping strategies include ignoring reality, Self-distraction, having a study
plan and incorporating enjoyable activities into their study routine. The ndings revealed
that undergraduates faced various stressors and employed coping strategies. Therefore,
this study is focused to enhance positive coping skills and to reduce their stress to achieve
better academic outcomes. | en_US |
