Table of Contents
Cover Page Pages
Title Page i
Approval page ii
Certification page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of Contents vi
List of Figures vii
List of Tables viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1
Background to the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 8
Purpose of the Study 9
Research Questions 9
Hypotheses 10
Significance of the Study 10
Scope of the Study 11
CHAPTER TWO Review of Related Literature 12
Conceptual Framework 12
Concept of stress and stressors, signs, symptoms and sources of stress 12
Stress management practices 24
Academic staff of tertiary institutions 29
Socio-demographic factors of academic staff on stress management practice 30
Theoretical Framework 36
Response based theory 36
Social cognitive theory 37
Stress model 38
Empirical Studies 41
Summary of Literature Review 47
CHAPTER THREE: Methods 48
Research Design 48
Area of the Study 48
Population for the Study 49
Sample and Sampling Technique 49
Instrument for Data Collection 50
Validity of the Instrument 50
Reliability of the Instrument 51
Method of Data Collection 51
Method of Data Analysis 51
CHAPTER FOUR: Result and Discussion 52
Result 52
Summary of Major Findings 61
Discussion of Findings 61
Stress management practices 61
Academic staff of tertiary institutions 62
Socio-demographic factors of academic staff on stress management practice 63
Implication of the study 65
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations 67
Summary 67
Conclusion 68
Recommendations 68
Suggestions for Further Studies 69
References 70
Appendices 86
Appendix A: letter of introduction 86
Appendix B: Instrument of data collection 87
Appendix C: distribution of academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa StateBased on gender 89
Appendix D: distribution of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on institutional type 90
Appendix E: distribution of the eight (8) sampled tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on institutional type 91
Appendix F: the distribution of sampled faculties/schools and departments in the sampled Universities, Colleges of education, Polytechnics and Schools 92
Appendix G: Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17) 94
List of Figures
Page
Figure 1: Diagrammatic representation of conceptual framework of stress management practices among teaching profession 35
Figure 2: Schematic Framework of stress management practices 40
List of Tables
Table Title Page
1 Sources of stress among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa state 53
2 Stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State 54
3 Stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on gender 55
4 Stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on marital status 56
5 Stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on religious affiliation 58
6 Summary of Chi-square Value Verifying the Null Hypothesis of No Significant Difference in the mean response on stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on gender 59
7 Summary of Chi-square Value Verifying the Null Hypothesis of No Significant Difference in the mean response on stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on marital status 60
8 Summary of Chi-square Value Verifying the Null Hypothesis of No Significant Difference in the mean response on stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa State based on religious affiliation 61
Abstract
The study was aimed at investigating the stress management practices among academic staff of Tertiary Institutions in Adamawa State. Documented evidence on stress management practices among academic staff of higher institutions in Adamawa State is scarce. Five research questions were asked and three hypotheses formulated to guide the study. A population of 3470 academic staff from the eleven tertiary institutions in Adamawa State was used. A researcher – designed questionnaire (validated by five experts) was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to reliability test using split half method. Data collected were analyzed using frequency percentages, and chi-square (ᵪ2) statistics. The result revealed that majority of the items were on stress management practices except going to night clubs or Concert (26.5%) and isolating oneself from others (31.1%), Majority of the items were stress management practices according to male and female academic staff except going to night clubs or Concert (Male = 28.5%, Female = 20.9%) and isolating oneself from others (Male = 31.3%, Female = 30.8%). The major stress management practices among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Adamawa state based on marital status were, eating of adequate and proper nutrition (Single = 80.5%, Married = 79.0%, Widowed = 96.3% and Divorced = 80.0%); Engagement in positive and realistic self-talk e.g. word of encouragement (Single = 68.3%, Married = 75.5%, Widowed = 88.9%, and Divorced = 80.0%). Majority of the items based on religious affiliation were stress management practices except going to night clubs or Concert (Islam = 28.4%, Christian = 23.2%) and isolating oneself from others (Islam = 27.0%, Christian = 38.4%). There was no significant difference in the stress management practices based on gender, marital status and religious affiliation. Following from these findings, it was recommended among others that Stress management programme with emphasis on stress prevention should be organised on a regular basis for academic staff. It was also recommended that tertiary institution authority should establish an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to provide professional services and assistance to academic staff suffering stress-related problems.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background to the Study
Stress is one of the serious emotional health problems people experience globally. Every human being has needs and wants and there is a deep hunger and enthusiasm in people to satisfy these demands. However, as effort is made to satisfy these needs one finds himself in a stressful situation. Stress is interwoven with life. American Institute of Stress (2005) opined that the biggest threat to health today is stress. United Kingdom Health and Safety Executives –HES (2005) estimated that over 13 million working days are lost every year because of stress as it is believed to trigger 70 per cent of visit to doctors, and 85 per cent of serious illnesses occurring in the United Kingdom. The cost of stress in terms of human suffering, social and occupational impairment and illness are enormous.
In Nigeria, Nweze (2005) submitted that for two and half decades, stress has become a topical issue in management development, seminars and workshops. The author further stated that the prevalence of stress stems from a number of obvious reasons. Firstly, stress is inextricably interwoven with life and ceases only when an individual stops breathing. Secondly the author noted that nobody is immune to stress, both the young, old, rich, poor, professionals, and lay men alike are potential victims of stress. Nweze further stated that our traditional mechanisms of handling stresses and strains of living such as age grade activities, moonlight tales, watching and organizing cultural dances, swimming in village rivers are fast diminishing. The above situation may have been facilitated by factors such as rapid urban development, increasing corporate regimentation of work to life, breakdown of social supports, increasing personal group conflicts, including security threats to life and property. The frustrations, disappointments and pressure of daily life constitute the genesis of stress amongst people of different works of life.
People live in different conditions, have different professions and have different problems. Human beings are constantly faced with a number of problems which may include poverty, unemployment, clinical depressions, compulsive disorder, heavy drinking, and insufficient sleep. All these factors cause stress of different complexities; thereby making stress is a major concern in many, if not all, educational institutions all over the world. Most of the institutions continue to spend large sums of money in an attempt to prevent and, even, help their staff manage the stress they experience in carrying out their roles and responsibilities, (Kusi, Mensah & Gyaki, 2014). Pressure of modern life, coupled with the demands of a job, can lead to emotional imbalances that are collectively labelled as stress. Owusu and Tawiah, (2014) asserted that stress exist in human beings, animals and even in metals.
Stress has been described as the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. Stress is the normal reaction of human psychics to the negative environment and constant pressure of work and household demands (Lehler, David, Barrow, Woolfolk, & Sime, 2007). Stress can be defined as the state of affairs that exist when an individual is unable to cope with excessive workplace demand or job pressure (Love & Irani, 2007). Olley (2009) defined stress as psychological, physiological and behavioural response of an individual seeking to adopt and adjust to both internal and external pressures. Uyanga (2012) referred to stress as any form of strain or interference, which disturbs the normal functioning of an organism. In this study, stress refers to an individual’s inability to cope with daily activities, be it at home or in the work place. Stress is caused by several factors called stressors. (Selye, 1976).
