Influence of Stress and Its Coping Mechanism Among University Going Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

College students undergo academic, financial, and social transitions, which impact their emotional well-being and academic performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate coping strategies among students and their effectiveness to further enhance support services and promote healthier coping strategies. The Student Stress Inventory (SSI) and the Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI) were administered to obtain data on student stress and coping styles. The SSI ascertained stress severity and sources, and the CSI classified coping responses into adaptive or maladaptive ones. A standardized questionnaire integrating both instruments was administered to a stratified random sample of full-time undergraduate students aged 18 and above. The data were statistically analyzed using MS Excel to investigate commonly used coping mechanisms and associations between levels of stress and coping mechanisms. We used Microsoft Excel to analyze data on stress and coping strategies among university students. We calculated averages and other statistics to summarize their scores and employed Pearson’s correlation analysis to evaluate the relationship between stress levels and coping mechanisms. We ran T-tests to compare stress and coping scores between male and female students. Clarifying results, we created bar charts and scatter plots, enhancing their accessibility. University students are most stressed, particularly women who report higher prevalence. They employ more coping strategies, indicating increased emotional load or greater stress management awareness. The results highlight the importance of gender-sensitive campus mental health care. Coping ability can be enhanced to reduce student stress, while the most frequently employed method is problem-solving. Key words: Stress, University students, coping mechanisms, Student Stress Inventory (SSI), Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI), Mental health, Adaptive coping