Stress Reduction and depression-Target Population
Stress less! Is a program provided by the stress reduction center at West Chester University that is design for West Chester university undergraduates, to make their lives easier. These students have busy, fast paced lives. The main target market for stress less is male and female young adults ages 17 to 24. Stress less is not limited to a certain nationality, sex, racial or ethnicity, but any individual with a mental health problem. There are an increasing number of students in the age group that have reported high levels of depression due to stress. It been reported the 1 in 5 undergrads is constantly stressed. Stress less will help reduce the number high cases reported to the university. This group is in great need for a program to help them deal with the problem. Balancing classes, tests, projects, extra-curricular activities, work, and relationships and paying for college is enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed. Not only is it a problem, but it is dangerous to their general health.
West Chester University is a public college located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. According to the 2011 West Chester university fact book, the university has 15,100 enrolled students both undergrads and graduates and full and part time. They all come from different states or countries. There are 85% (12,834) undergrads, 41% (5,282) of these of students are male and 59% (7,553) are females. (West Chester University Fact Book, 2011).
West Chester University is comprised of 80.5% (10,328) Caucasians both full and part time and it is the largest racial group on the campus. The remaining 19.5% (2,506) student’s make up 9.6% of African American, 0.5% Native American, 2% Asians, 4.3% Hispanics and 0.74% make up the multi-cultural, non-resident alien or not supplied. Stress less is going to focus on all different race and ethnicity.
Most freshmen students are required to live on campus own housing. Other year students can live on campus or off campus. Throughout the academic year student move freely around from one place to the next. It is also easier to get in contact with them, because every student have a student email or a personal email which will be very easy to reach them, and if they don’t have computers, the campus have free access to computer lab throughout the campus. This way stress less will be able to get in contact with them so they can come to the stress reduction classes.
West Chester university students are stressed from everyday worries about grades, work and other stuff. 1 in 5 students say they have felt too stressed to do school work or socialize. About 12 percent have been diagnosed with mental health condition such as depression and anxiety disorder. It have been reported that women have a higher stress level than men. Freshman frequently stress out the most. College students, especially freshmen, are likely to become more stress out due to the transitional nature of college life (Towbes & Cohen, 1996). They must adjust to being away from home for the first time, maintain a high level of academic achievement, and adjust to a new social environment. Women are likelier than men to say they experience pressure from every possible source of stress. Students may struggle with their weight due to stress. While some student gains about 10-20 pounds around their first year, known as the Freshman 15, others lose weight unintentionally, or struggle with eating disorders. Certainly finances and life conditions plays a role. The stress of college lifestyle cannot be ignored as a factor as well. Because of these factors and because college is supposed to be enjoyed, not suffer it’s important to keep college stress free. Stress less can provide students with resources to keep these years more relaxed, productive and fun.
College students, often deal with pressures related to finding a job or a potential life partner. The amount of stress experienced may be influenced by the individual's ability to effectively cope with stressful events and situations (D'Zurilla & Sheedy, 1991). If stress is not dealt with effectively, feelings of loneliness and nervousness, as well as sleeplessness and excessive worrying may result. Stress less will address stress of college students. They will design an effective interference, stressors that particularly affect college students will be determined. Potential sources of stress on college students include excessive homework, unclear assignments, and uncomfortable classrooms (Kohn & Frazer, 1986). Earning high grades, work and family and friends relationships, eating and sleeping habits, and loneliness may affect some students adversely are also sources of stress for students.
Studies have tested sources of stress among undergraduate (Gadzella, 1994). Many events and situations have been stated as stressors for college students, more research is needed to investigate the nature of these stressors for college students, and which stressors are most prevalent in college students lives. According to the American Psychological Association (APA) (2008) it is unclear whether most stressors result from interpersonal relationships or academics. In addition, research is needed to clarify whether these stressors are mostly daily hassles or major live events. The APA reported that nearly half of Americans state that their stress levels have increased since November 2007, with as many as 30 percent rating their average stress levels as extreme. At the same time, economic conditions take a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide.
All people regardless of ethnicity face Stress, but stress may vary among cultural groups. All cultural groups are reporting increased stress about money and work. As a result of cultural norms, many ethnic groups do not seek help with coping with stress. When it comes to managing stress, the APA reports that several cultural groups say they are doing too much to deal with their stress. It appears that blacks, Hispanics, and Asians reported higher levels of stress with occupation, finances, relationships, and violence, than whites. Among Hispanics, Puerto Ricans had the highest levels of stress. Blacks, especially those with low income report not only a great number of stressful life events but also stronger responses to them, (Myers and Hwang, 2004). Differences in exposure to stress are partly attributable to group differences in socioeconomic status. However, race may also interact with socioeconomic status in producing levels of distress. Kessler and Neighbors (1986) found such a race-by-class interaction, such that low-status blacks reported higher levels of distress than high-status blacks or whites of any status. In addition, exposure to and the experience of stress for some minority groups may be lower than for whites. In a study done by Uppaluri (2001), Asian Indians and Koreans reported lower levels of stress response over a 2-week period than any other ethnical group. Also immigrants who had lived in the United States less than 1 year reported significantly lower stress response levels than those who had lived in the United States for at least 15 years.
The annual direct and indirect costs for mental health problems are approximately $9.5 million. Property and Casualty Insurance, (2002), stress cost $42 billion per year for prevention. To attend a weekly class session to reduce stress can cost over $5,200 per year or more. Nearly half the United States population will suffer a mental health disorder during their lifetime. 26-30 percent will experience a mental disorder in any given year, and about 6 percent will face a mental disorder so serious that it impairs their ability to perform everyday activities for an average of three months. Stress less believe that by adding more resources to the West Chester University stress reduction will help the students with their mental health challenges and assist them in staying in school.