Stressforskning har länge fokuserat på stress i arbetslivet. Man har med olika modeller mätt psykosocialt mående bland arbetstagare, ofta genom att undersöka hur anställda upplever krav som ställs på dem, handlingsfrihet i arbetet, upplevd företagskultur och makthierarkier etc. Under senare år har en annan grupp uppmärksammats; studenter vid svenska högskolor och universitet. Folkhälsomyndigheten publicerade i september 2018 en rapport om psykisk ohälsa bland studenter. Denna visade att en hög andel av studenter upplever stress, har symptom på utmattning, ångest och depression.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka upplevd stress bland ekonomprogramsstudenter på Handelshögskolan i Göteborg.

En kvantitativ undersökning gjordes, där 749 studenter fick tillgång till en webbenkät. Antalet respondenter var 181. Detta gav en svarsfrekvens på 24.16% och studien kan därmed inte generaliseras på hela populationen ekonomprogramstudenter. Studenterna fick svara på frågor om vilka krav de upplever ställs på dem i deras högskolestudier, och hur de upplever sig hantera dessa krav.

Resultatet visade att deltagarna upplevde både relativt höga krav och hög kontroll. Studier var den mest stressframkallande faktorn. Därav kan slutsatsen dras att responderande upplever sig kunna hantera de krav som ställs på dem i samband med studierna.

Stress research is often centered around the workplace environment. Different models have been developed in order to measure psychological wellbeing of employees. Such models focus on how employees perceive the demands in their professional capacity, perceived latitude in their work tasks, perceived corporate culture and hierarchical structures etc. In recent years another group has caught the attention of researchers in the field of mental health; studies have shown that many students at Swedish universities exhibit high levels of anxiety and depression.

The aim of this study was to investigate the degree to which students at the Economics program at Gothenburg University feel stress in their studies.

In a quantitative study, 749 students received a link to an online survey. The number of respondents was 181. This gave a response rate of 24.16% and therefore the study cannot be generalized across the entire population of economics students. The survey contained questions about perceived demands in their academic life, and how they assessed their ability to handle these demands.

The results showed that the respondents perceived that the academic demands were relatively high, although they assessed their ability to handle the demands to be sufficient. They also considered the academic demands to be the most significant stressor. Conclusions can be drawn that respondents find themselves able to handle the demands placed on them in connection with the studies.