Academic Stress in First-Year Biology Education Students: The Role of Coping Strategies and Self-Esteem
Abstract
First-year university students often experience high levels of academic stress as they transition into new academic, social, and personal environments. This issue is increasingly urgent to address, as unmanaged stress can negatively affect students’ self-esteem, academic performance, and overall well-being. Therefore, exploring the role of coping strategies and self-esteem is essential for identifying effective approaches to reducing academic stress among first-year students, particularly in Biology Education programs. This study aims to examine the relationship between coping strategies, self-esteem, and academic stress among first-year students in the Biology Education program at FKIP, La Tansa Mashiro University. The study employs a correlational design with a purposive sampling technique, involving 22 participants. The findings reveal a strong and statistically significant negative relationship between coping strategies, self-esteem, and academic stress. The findings indicate a strong and statistically significant negative relationship between coping strategies, self-esteem, and academic stress. This suggests that students with more effective coping strategies and higher self-esteem tend to experience lower levels of academic stress. In other words, improvements in coping strategies and self-esteem are associated with a meaningful reduction in academic stress among first-year students. This means that as coping strategies and self-esteem increase, educational stress decreases.
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