**A Taxonomy of College Student Stressors and their Relationships with Student Strains and Success**
Monica Scott, Kent Vensland, Jayla Davis, Ben Kauffman, Enrique Cabrera-Caban, Ben Bass
Advisor: Dr. Konstantin Cigularov
Old Dominion University
The college years are associated with personal growth and achievement, but
also with challenges, adjustment issues, and stress. Further, a substantial
number of students in higher education today are non-traditional, which
means that they are often older and have more non-school responsibilities
than traditional students have. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a)
to create a taxonomy of student stressors through qualitative data
analysis, and (b) examine stressors’ relationships with student
self-reported strains and success, including general health, depression,
burnout, perceived stress, life satisfaction, grade point average, and
perceived academic performance. The stressors were identified through
content analysis of qualitative, critical incident data from 93
undergraduate students at Old Dominion University, which produced 28 unique
student stressors. To create the taxonomy, the qualitative data was
categorized using grounded theory analysis. To assess the effects of
stressors on student outcomes, 163 undergraduate students completed a
survey regarding their experiences while enrolled in college. A series of
stepwise, multiple regression analyses showed that anxiety about one’s
major, parental pressure to succeed academically, and the extent to which
schoolwork interfered with quality time spent with friends and family most
consistently predicted student strain and lack of success. This study
provides a systematic identification and categorization of key student
stressors that can be useful for college administrators when developing
support services or interventions for at-risk students.