October 6, 2014 - 11:55
These statistics seem to indicate that feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, lonely, and stressed are common among college-age students. As Kroger suggests, these feelings should be typical for people going through a transitional period of identities and development. Many students feel depressed and caught between several identities and stages of maturation, with the latter enforcing the former. Students are in a constant state of stress, disarray, and insecurity, and also tend to get little sleep, or feel rested after it. This period of time is highly demanding for students, asking them to be constantly engaged and almost never settled. It’s no wonder students feel as though they’ve felt exhausted (not from physical activity) over the last two weeks. Anxiety and depression are the two most diagnosed illnesses among this insecure population. Further, as Kroger mentions, the expectation that they are to experience life a certain way during this period is also telling of how conflicted and constricted they feel.
These statistics seem to indicate that feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, lonely, and stressed are common among college-age students. As Kroger suggests, these feelings should be typical for people going through a transitional period of identities and development. Many students feel depressed and caught between several identities and stages of maturation, with the latter enforcing the former. Students are in a constant state of stress, disarray, and insecurity, and also tend to get little sleep, or feel rested after it. This period of time is highly demanding for students, asking them to be constantly engaged and almost never settled. It’s no wonder students feel as though they’ve felt exhausted (not from physical activity) over the last two weeks. Anxiety and depression are the two most diagnosed illnesses among this insecure population. Further, as Kroger mentions, the expectation that they are to experience life a certain way during this period is also telling of how conflicted and constricted they feel.
Comments
ACHA Response
Submitted by ssmalls on October 6, 2014 - 12:00 Permalink
I really appreciated how easy the text was to read and understand since dense research like this can often be too difficult to follow. I also found this read helpful because it allowed me to think back and reflect on my college experience and all the troubles I had around things like anxiety, stress, and relationship difficulties. With that, it was refreshing to read that many other college students shared those same experiences.
The data also did a great job at highlighting responses to questions about sexually risky behaviors while making it easier to draw correlations between national statistical data regarding STI and HIV rates among adolescents. It wasn’t surprising that many students reported that the main contraceptive used to prevent pregnancy was the male condom (67.2). Although, I did find that most males (60.1%) who reported birth control pills as also being a top choice to be very problematic. This led me to think that many students, while relying heavily on birth control, were not using condoms, but I could be misunderstanding the question all together. I was also shocked to find that females had reported a higher percentage (30.1) than males (25.9) for using withdrawal as a method of contraceptive.
After reviewing the survey data I realized the true value of peer educator initiatives on campuses geared toward education students on safe sex practices.