What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to investigate the prevalence of perceived academic stress and its effects on psychological wellbeing and sleep quality among undergraduates.

April 1, 2026Open Access

Perceived Academic Stress, Psychological Wellbeing, and Sleep Quality among Undergraduate Students — A Cross-Sectional Study

Key Points

The study aims to investigate the prevalence of perceived academic stress and its effects on psychological wellbeing and sleep quality among undergraduates.
Cross-sectional design involving 2,847 undergraduate students from five faculties
Used multiple scales: PSS-10 for stress, PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, WHOQOL-BREF for quality of life, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index for sleep assessment
Applied structured cluster sampling by faculty and year of study
Conducted multiple regression and mediation analysis
38.4% of participants reported high perceived academic stress
First-year and medical students showed the highest stress prevalence
High-stress individuals had lower GPAs (mean 2.74 vs. 3.61) and shorter sleep duration (mean 4.8 vs. 7.4 hours)
Examination frequency, financial insecurity, social isolation, and poor sleep quality predicted higher stress
Sleep quality partially mediated the relationship between stress and academic performance, accounting for 31.4% of the GPA relationship

Abstract

Academic stress is a pervasive phenomenon among university undergraduates globally, generating cascading effects on psychological wellbeing, sleep architecture, and scholastic performance. This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence and severity of perceived academic stress among 2,847 undergraduate students enrolled across five faculties of the University of Strasbourg using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and investigated its associations with depression symptoms (PHQ-9), generalised anxiety (GAD-7), quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), sleep duration and quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and cumulative grade point average.Structured cluster sampling stratified by faculty and year of study was employed. Results revealed that 38.4 percent of participants met criteria for high perceived stress (PSS-10 above 27), with first-year students and those in medical and competitive professional programmes showing the highest prevalence. High-stress participants demonstrated significantly lower GPAs (mean 2.74 vs. 3.61 in low-stress controls), shorter sleep duration (mean 4.8 vs. 7.4 hours), and markedly elevated PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores. Multiple regression analysis identified examination frequency, financial insecurity, social isolation, and poor sleep quality as independent predictors of PSS-10 score, with examination frequency accounting for the largest proportion of explained variance.Mediation analysis indicated that sleep quality partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and academic performance, explaining 31.4 percent of the total stress-GPA association. The findings provide a quantitative evidence base for targeted university mental health interventions, advocating for restructured examination scheduling,

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