This study was conducted to examine the influences of college entrance exam stress, perceived social support, and pessimism-optimism on high school students' maladjustment problems. In this study, the following three research questions were addressed:...
This study was conducted to examine the influences of college entrance exam stress, perceived social support, and pessimism-optimism on high school students' maladjustment problems. In this study, the following three research questions were addressed:
Research Question 1. Of college entrance exam stress, perceived social support, and pessimism-optimism, what are the strong predictors of high school students' attention problems?
Research Question 2. Of college entrance exam stress, perceived social support, and pessimism-optimism, what are the strong predictors of high school students' depressed/anxious problems?
Research Question 3. Of college entrance exam stress, perceived social support, and pessimism-optimism, what are the strong predictors of high school students' withdrawal problems?
Two-hundred eighty-five 12th graders (119 males, 166 females) participated in this study. The College Entrance Exam Stress Scale, the Social Support Scale, the Optimism-Pessimism Scale, the K-YSR Adolescents' Self-Report Form of Behavior Assessment were administered. Data analyses were conducted through the following methods.
First, gender-, and academic achievement level-differences in the variables of college entrance exam stress (i.e., parental pressure, test tension/academic underachievement, lack of free time, uncertainty of the future), in the variables of perceived social support (i.e., parent support, teacher support, peer support), in the variables of pessimism-optimism (i.e., pessimism, optimism), and in the variables of maladjustment problems (i.e., attention problems, depressed/anxious problems, withdrawal) were explored through the multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA).
Second, to test the research hypotheses, the multiple regression analyses (stepwise), all of the variables of college entrance exam stress, perceived social support, and pessimism-optimism as predictors, and each of the maladjustment problems as criterion variable were conducted.
The results of this study were summarized as follows:
First, gender-differences in college entrance exam stress were significant in exam stress due to test tension/academic underachievement and uncertainty of the future. Female students were more likely to experience college entrance exam stress due to test tension/academic underachievement and uncertainty for the future than were males.
Second, gender differences in perceived social support were significant in teacher support and peer support. The level of perceived social support from teachers was higher in the male group than in the female group. In contrast, that of perceived social support from peers was high in the female group than in the male group.
Third, the gender-differences in both pessimism and optimism were not significant.
Fourth, the gender differences in maladjustment were not significant in attention problems, depressed/anxious problems, and withdrawal.
Fifth, the differences by academic achievement level were significant in college entrance exam stress due to test tension/academic underachievement. The lower the academic achievement level, the higher the college entrance exam stress due to test tension/academic underachievement.
Sixth, the differences by academic achievement level were significant in all of the perceived social support variables. The lower the academic achievement level, the lower the level of the perceived social support from parents, teachers, and peers.
Seventh, the differences by academic achievement level were significant in both the level of pessimism and optimism. The lower the academic achievement level, the higher the level of pessimism but the lower that of optimism.
Eighth, the differences by academic achievement level were significant in attention problems and depressed/anxious problems. The lower the academic achievement level, the higher the level of attention problems and that of depressed/anxious problems.
Ninth, pessimism and college entrance exam stress due to test tension/academic underachievement were found to be significantly strong predictors of 12th graders' attention problems.
Tenth, pessimism, college entrance exam stress due to lack of free time, lack of parent support, college entrance exam stress due to uncertainty of the future, and college entrance exam stress due to test tension/academic underachievement were found to be significantly strong predictors of 12th graders' depressed/anxious problems.
Eleventh, pessimism, lack of peer support, college entrance exam stress due to lack of free time, and lack of optimism were found to be significantly strong predictors of 12th graders' withdrawal.
The findings from this study imply that 12th graders' maladjustment problems can be accounted for by intra-individual variables (i.e., college entrance exam stress, pessimism, optimism) and external variables (i.e., social support from parents and peers). Therefore, school-based counseling efforts should be made to change such intra-individual variables and to promote social support from parents, peers, and teachers. Finally, the limitations of this study and the suggestions for further research were offered. In particular, since high school students may suffer from various syndromes related to college entrance exam although this study focused only on three maladjustment problems (i.e., attention problems, depressed/anxious problems, future studies need to explore withdrawal), more studies need to be conducted.