Perceived Stress, Academic Stress, and Academic Performance among University Students in Tirana, Albania

University students may experience both general perceived stress and stress arising specifically from academic demands. Whether these two forms of stress show independent associations with academic performance is less clear when they are considered in the same model. Objective: This study investigated perceived stress, academic stress, and academic performance among university students in Tirana, Albania, with emphasis on the independent contribution of each stress construct after accounting for demographic and institutional characteristics.Between June and July 2026, a cross-sectional survey was completed by 264 students aged 18–25 years enrolled in public and non-public universities. The survey included the PSS-10, a study-specific 10-item academic stress measure, and self-reported GPA categories.Perceived stress and academic stress were moderately associated (r=.579, p<.001), and academic stress, but not perceived stress, was higher among students at public universities in unadjusted comparisons. Curvilinear patterns appeared in separate stress–GPA analyses, but they were not reproduced when the two stress measures were modeled together. In the adjusted joint model, neither perceived stress (p = .195) nor academic stress (p = .864) showed a statistically significant independent association with GPA, whereas socioeconomic status was significantly associated with GPA (p = .002).The findings distinguish descriptive and exploratory stress–performance patterns from the adjusted associations observed in the joint model. In this sample, socioeconomic circumstances were more consistently related to GPA than either stress measure, indicating that student performance should be considered within a broader social context.