Stress and Anger Management and Communication Styles Essay Example for Free

Stress and Anger Management and Communication Styles Essay College Education is the end of uphill battle for students. These vital and rigorous educations provide greater opportunities in life. A lot of hardships are faced by college students and stress is one major factor that contributes to it. Mismanagement of stress causes burnouts. Common factors of stress are time management, financial problems, sleep deprivation, social activities, health, etc. Hatcher and Prus (1991) named these stress factors as academic situational constraints. Their study accounts these factors that decrease academic performances. Being in a new environment may be a cause for students to encounter different problems while going through their college life. These problems may involve the inability to fit in or to mingle with the people around them, difficulties in managing time or their schedules easily, coping up with the new knowledge that is being given to them. Experiences such as the ones mentioned may cause stress to the students. Stress, which may affect their dealing with other people and their ability to manage the things around them. Even in the midst of facing these  problems, students are still able to adapt or think of ways to cope up with them. It takes time to be comfortable around new people or environment but once someone gets the hang of it, eventually, they will find it easier. Skills with time management may be develop through the days or weeks that students have to go through. Learning, though different in styles in all individuals, could eventually adapt. These problems that they encounter and their adaptability to them are natural to humans. The behavior toward others falls somewhere on a spectrum between toxic effect and nourishing effect. Toxic behavior makes people feel devalued, angry, frustrated, guilty or otherwise inadequate. Nourishing behavior makes people feel valued, respected, affirmed, encouraged or competent (Albrecht, 2000). It is an ability that is termed as social intelligence. Such ability â€Å"includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and a knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others†. Stress and anger possess threats that may put our health in danger. Today, there are increasing level of stress in both men and women. The mishandled anger of teenagers may result from further problems like being involved in scandalous acts, declining of mental health, deviant behavior, etc. The researchers believe that individuals possess the unique blend of intelligences. The researchers want to find out how our intelligence with intrapersonal and interpersonal affects the control of stress and anger. The study may provide enlightenment with the ability to understand ourselves and the ability to interact with other people. Other studies focus only on communication styles, stress management or anger management individually. Some correlates the communication styles to the stress management while some focus on the correlation of stress to the anger management. Studies of anger management are rarely focused on. This study focuses on the accumulation of communication styles and the stress and anger management and their correlation to each other. It relates to other studies in a way that the results are already combined and compared to one another. Statement of the Problem The main purpose of the study is to compare the difference of the interpersonal and intrapersonal ability scores and determine if it affects  the stress and anger management of PLM Freshmen Psychology students. Specifically, the researchers aim to answer the following questions: 1. What is the level of stress management of the students under? 1.1Intrapersonal 1.2Interpersonal 2. What is the level of anger management of the students under? 2.1Intrapersonal 3. Is there a significant difference in the level of stress management of the students under. 3.1Intrapersonal 3.2Interpersonal 4. Is there a significant difference in the level of anger management of the students? 4.1Intrapersonal 4.2Interpersonal Hypotheses The study was designed to test the hypotheses: 1) There is no significant difference in the level of stress and anger management of respondents under the communication styles, intrapersonal and interpersonal. Significance of the Study Students, teachers, guidance counselors and other researchers interested in the field of social science may find this study useful for their own work. The results of this study can provide students with information regarding the ideal communication styles in order to manage their stress. This study can also provide teachers and counselors with the background to help their students with their relation to their studies and other researchers with literature for their related research undertaking. The study is predicted to provide information that can be used in understanding and improving the stress management of students. Scope and Limitations The study was focused on determining the difference of interpersonal ability  and intrapersonal ability of Bachelor of Science in Psychology freshmen student this School Year 2012-2013 in dealing with stress and anger management. The study area was limited only at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Intramuros, Manila. The researchers decided to choose freshmen, since first year students are new in college and are more prone to stress and feel difficult to handle situations because of the new environment, responsibilities and friends to adhere in college years. In gathering the data needed, three sets of questionnaire were used. The test for stress management, anger management and multiple intelligence tests but only the social intelligence where the interpersonal and intrapersonal ability are considered. Though different, the concepts however of each questionnaire are related and useful to combine all the supported data for the study. Also the researchers did not include and emphasi ze the relationship of intrapersonal ability and interpersonal ability. CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Review of Related Literature and Studies Interpersonal and Stress In a new environment, people will learn to adapt eventually. But while in the process of adaptation, these people will experience stress, anxiety, and anger from their surroundings. Even in an academic setting, instances about adapting also happen especially when it is the start of a school year or when someone has reached a new or high grade level. This study focuses on the ability of the students to adapt in a new environment in the college level. The CS Translator (2000) mentioned that college life is full of new experiences and anxieties. It can be the best of times and the worst of times. Meeting new people, learning, and being on their own are the best. Falling behind in class, pulling an â€Å"all-nighters† and final exams can be the worst; sometimes the best of times leads to the worst of times. Students who spend too much time meeting new people and â€Å"socializing† find themselves skipping class, falling behind on assignments and â€Å"bombing† exams. Orino (2011) added that College life is also a time of enormous stress – a time of confusion,  loneliness and uncertainty and never to be experienced again from the vantage point of a young adult whose perspective is clouded by inexperience, insecurity and the struggles of discovering a separate identity. Being in the adolescent stage, the college freshman’s adjustment to college highly depends on the personal quality he possess in order to cope up with the various demands of college life. This is where stress plays a big role. It affects an individual in many ways – even in the little things. Stress is something that is never to be missed in college life. It is defined as the nonspecific response of the body to any pressures made by it. In other words, any reaction or response your body makes to a new situation is stress (Barcase, 2007). Socializing with the people in the surroundings and getting to know them can be a source of stress. There are cases when people who don’t have high interpersonal ability get stressed when interacting with others. Merely meeting and talking to a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a friend can be stressful if we don’t know what to say or how to act (Barcarse, 2007). When stress gets in the way of interacting, the interpersonal aspect of the life of a student affects their academic performance and therefore be stressed when they struggle to cope with new lessons or when they are loaded with lessons to be reviewed before taking exams. Students are also very stressed and anxious when they are experiencing new educational settings. In college, many students are experiencing changes in grading standards, course load, teaching practices, peer group, and parental contact. Some have difficulty adapting to the changes of college transition and revealed that high school is very much different from college (Sison, 2008). It is during these times when students feel amotivation. Amotivation is a state in which individuals cannot perceive the relationship between their behaviour and that behaviour subsequent outcome. Amotivated individuals cannot predict the consequence of their behaviour nor can they see the motive behind it. They feel disintegrated or detached from their actions and will thus invest little effort or energy in its effectuation (Green-Demers, et. al, 2006). When these individuals are amotivated, there will be changes in their  behaviour, in their point of view or even the way they view things. Some noticeable changes whether sudden or gradual can include changes in mood, eating, and sleeping habits, substance use, increased isolation, peer pressure, identity crisis, and feeling helpless or hopeless. In the long run, such symptoms, as well as the pressure of life’s demands if not handled properly, can lead to poor adjustment to university and ultimately, to experiencing a crisis situation, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts or severe anxiety or depression, to the point that everyday activities become difficult to accomplish and academic performance was affected (Sison, 2008). Patrick, Ryan and Kaplan (2007) examined perceptions of the classroom social environment as it relates with engagement in classroom. It was found that when students feel a sense of emotional support from teacher, academic support from peers and encouragement from teacher to discuss their work, students are more likely to use self-regulatory strategies and engaged in task-related interaction. This shows that social environment affect student’s academic and social beliefs about themselves, which in turn affects their behaviour and cognitive engagement in class and then their achievement. This shows that even when stress affects the students’ interaction with other students; they may still be able to handle it well if they have a good feel about their surrounding and the people around them. One way to resist stress is to have a good interpersonal relationship with the people around or to have a good feel about oneself. Learning how to handle or control the things around an individual makes him or herself more confident. Self-confidence and feeling in control of life are immensely valuable when it comes to fending off negative stress. Something as apparently flimsy as attitude and self-esteem has a very big impact. One of the strands found in the techniques is looking at building self-esteem (Clegg, 2000). Aside from the interpersonal aspect, students can also experience stress in the intrapersonal aspect. Stressing themselves or sometimes it’s when their emotions are flared up or when their angry. According to Remedios Alcazaren-Ureta (2011), anger management is simply an aspect of managing  stress, since anger is a symptom of stress. O’Neil (2006) emphasized that â€Å"It is widely assumed that anger occurs as a result of frustration, perceived threat or a belief that a personal injustice has occurred. Common triggers are social or interpersonal in nature†¦ The individual’s appraisal of a situation, including expectation of himself or herself and others†. Synthesis The researchers believe that each and every stated in this research is related in this study. The literature and studies supported each concept in the study by depicting actual and normal situations of a college student at home and in school. The literature and studies also emphasized the importance of stress and anger management to the improvement of the communication styles of students. The related literature and studies stated in this research did not entirely support the correlation in the difference of scores in the stress and anger management of students, it only shows that these justifies both side of the study. Theoretical Framework Freshmen students, as becoming new to the university they tend to have difficulties in coping with the new environment. Becoming friends with other students need skills in communicating their feelings and thoughts these pertains to their Intrapersonal and Interpersonal abilities. These pertain to the Social Intelligence theory which is the ability to get along well with others, and to get them to cooperate with you. Sometimes referred to simplistically as people skills, SI includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others. It also involves a certain amount of self-insight and a consciousness of ones own perceptions and reaction patterns. (Dr. Karl Abrecht, 2004) Handling stress and anger means controlling yourself in order to be in harmony with the environment. In students, stress can decline your mental  process, health and the relationship towards other people. Friends can be a stress towards you or your friends can be affected by your stress. Same as anger, it brings trouble to students when they cannot control their negative feelings to others. By being new to the environment, stress and anger mishandle may arise and that the â€Å"people skill† is needed for adaptation in the environment. It all comes to one’s self to overcome stress and anger. College life brings new experiences as well as frustrations. Freshmen college students are more prone to face these. A new freshman college student must learn to balance his social and emotional skills in order to cope up with the demands of college life. The stress and frustrations caused by the new adjustments made by the students may test their social or interpersonal abilities for they make new friendships and interact simultaneously with people not familiar to them. It is also assumed that these new companions have different personalities which can make interacting with them more stressful for students. Since they are also pressured and overwhelmed by the heavy loads of work, freshmen students become aggressive and frustrated when their efforts results to failure. With these instances given, the interpersonal abilities of the students can be correlated to their stress and anger management in school because students with high social skills can handle stress caused by the people around them. As Dr. Albrecht (2004) stated, that Social Intelligence (SI) is the ability to get along well with others, and to get them to cooperate with you. It is also referred to simplistically as people skills,† SI includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others. The frustrations brought by the pressure of school works and requirements may also trigger anger to students. The emotional intelligence of students is challenged in these situations and these can be correlated in their anger management. Students who are insightful can handle frustrations and they will not always resolve to aggression or anger. According to Salovey and Mayer’s (1990), emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use  this information to guide one’s thinking and actions. In a new environment, people will learn to adapt eventually. But while in the process of adaptation, these people will experience stress, anxiety, and anger from their surroundings. Even in an academic setting, instances on adapting also happen especially when it is the start of a school year or when someone has reached a new or higher grade level. This study focuses on the ability of the students to adapt in a new environment in the college level. The CS Translator (2000) mentioned that college life is full of new experiences and anxieties. It can be the best of times and the worst of times. Meeting new people, learning, and being on their own are the best. Falling behind in class, pulling an â€Å"all-nighters† and final exams can be the worst; sometimes the best of times lead to the worst of times. Students who spend too much time meeting new people and â€Å"socializing† find themselves skipping class, falling behind in assignments and â€Å"bombing† exams. Stress is inevitable part of daily life of every individual. Most especially in college students who are more prone with it. New places to acclimate, major subjects that will drive you crazy, sleepless nights due to exams, reports and assignments and lastly strangers who’ll you meet and eventually will become one of your friends or the reason of your stress. By this, stress can trigger our well-being inside and out. This may also lead to the point where we can’t restrain anymore and get a strong feeling of displeasured namely anger. By knowing and realizing the situation your own, we have this efficiency in dealing with our everyday problems. It may come to our inner strength where we have this certain control of our emotion or to the environment and people around us whom we get this urge to stay calm and be reserve. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence has a great influence in the research to be performed by the researchers in this thesis. Gardner’s MI (Multiple Intelligence) determines the intelligence of an individual including the Intrapersonal ability and Interpersonal ability. With this theory the researchers will determine the Social Intelligence of an individual (Interpersonal and Intrapersonal). This theory will be the  researcher’s basis to determine whether which kind of personality will be the greatest in case of handling stress and anger management. According to Gardner; Intrapersonal persons are the ones who are independent and happy spending time alone, they find it easier to learn by thinking and working quietly on their own. Intrapersonal has a determined character who might not be as at risk to peer pressure, they also has a good idea of their own strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand Interpersonal are considerate persons, they enjoy mixing and talking with lots of friends, they also enjoy playing team games and share thoughts and feelings to others. They also has a good ability to tell how others are feeling by their tone of voice or body language, people often come to this kind of persons for support and advice. Lastly they genuinely care about others and finds it easy to get on their own way. Social Intelligence is the ability to get along with others this includes the awareness of situations, knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his/her objectives in dealing with others. It also involves a certain amount of self-insight and a consciousness of one’s own perceptions and reaction patterns. SI (Social Intelligence) will serve as a way of determining a person’s interaction with others. A low level of SI may connote the inability to connect with people and influence them effectively. This happens to be a characteristic of a person with a high Intrapersonal Ability. Conversely, a high level of SI may connote the ability of a person being much more effective in dealing and interacting with others, this is a characteristic of a person with a high level of Interpersonal Ability. Freshmen Psychology Students Conceptual Paradigm Multiple Intelligence Test INTRAPERSONAL INTERPERSONAL Anger Management Stress Management Anger Management Stress Management To be able to accomplish the study, the researchers made an organizational chart or framework on how the study will flow. The respondents, will be given the Multiple Intelligence Test. The test will identify the ability to which an individual is greatest, either Interpersonal or Intrapersonal. After identifying the ability of the student, the researchers will administer the next test, the Burn out Test. This test will determine the Stress Management and likewise, the Anger Management Test will determine the level of anger management of an individual with of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal ability. Definition of Terms Stress Management it is the ability of BS Psychology freshmen to handle stress caused by external factors. Anger Management – it is the ability of BS Psychology freshmen to handle frustrations within oneself. Interpersonal ability – ability to communicate effectively with people around the individual. Intrapersonal ability – ability to handle emotions effectively, particularly anger. Correlation – refers to how communication styles related to stress and anger management Communication Style – refers to the intrapersonal and interpersonal ability of an individual Mismanagement – inability of the person to organize emotions or situations such as stress and anger Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Ability Scores- Data or result gathered from the social intelligence category under multiple intelligence test of the BS Psychology freshmen.