Financial Burden

One aspect of post-secondary education that has been found to increase stress in students is the financial burden of schooling and related costs. Schweitzer (1996) did a study to identify problems the students encountered from and to see how aware they were of support services offered at the university. A survey was administered to four hundred forty-one subjects who were undergraduates at the Queensland University of Technology. Schweitzer found that 19% of the student subjects feared going into debt and 9% feared the dilemma of insufficient money. Schweitzer also found that 37% of the students surveyed had experienced financial difficulties in the prior twelve months. Westefeld and Furr (as cited in Schweitzer, 1996) found that one of the most frequently cited causes of depression among students is financial difficulty.

Ryland, Riordan, and Brack (1994) did a study to examine what factors influence the continuance of students who are considered to be high risk for dropping out. The subjects completed the Coping Resources Inventory for Stress (CRIS) and a questionnaire that was developed by the authors. The participants were students "enrolled in the developmental studies curriculum and in a personal and academic development seminar during the fall quarter (September - December) of 1991." (Ryland, Riordan, and Brack, 1994). Ryland et al. found that the student subjects who dropped-out of post-secondary education were more likely to be paying for their education without help and the students who continued were more likely to be receiving financial assistance. It was suggested by Ryland et al. that a decrease in the amount of time spent on school work due to employment, may be a contributing factor to the larger population of drop-outs being from the group that does not receive financial assistance.

Nugent, Faucette, and Kromrey (1996) did a study to discover what attitudes preservice educators' have toward multiculturalism and gender equity and what institutionalized inequities contribute to them. The subjects completed a one hundred fifty item survey. The participants were four hundred and ninety-one undergraduate students in a College of Education. Nugent et al. found that the greatest problem causing stress for the student participants was educational expenses.

Liu, Oda, Peng, and Asai (1997) did a study to discover what life events cause anxiety in Chinese medical students. The subjects completed Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and a life events checklist. The participants were five hundred thirty-seven Chinese medical students. Liu et al. discovered that financial problems were among the most common stressful experiences for the Chinese medical students in the previous twelve months.

Archer and Lamnin (as cited in Frazier & Schauben, 1994) found that "African American students were more likely than other students to list financial problems as a stressor." It seems that the impact the financial burden of education may have on students might be related to their race and employment.

Please find below links to other sites which you may find interesting.

Canadian Federation of Students

For one Poore student, credit became a financial nightmare

Achievable Financial Solutions, Inc.

NUS says survey gives wrong picture of hardship crisis