{"id":185,"date":"2012-08-08T10:07:37","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T15:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/?p=185"},"modified":"2012-08-08T10:07:37","modified_gmt":"2012-08-08T15:07:37","slug":"females-are-more-affected-by-campus-stress-than-males","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/2012\/08\/08\/females-are-more-affected-by-campus-stress-than-males\/","title":{"rendered":"Females are more affected by campus stress than males"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>By Maggie Burch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nora Tocheny, a first-year Westhampton College student, said she felt the need to keep up appearances during her first semester of college.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a freshman,\u201d she said, \u201cyou want to come in always happy, always willing to meet people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tocheny felt as though she should always try to keep a positive attitude, even though she knew coming in to college that there would be times \u201cwhen things are gonna be hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has not even taken her first college exams, though. \u201cIt\u2019s the anticipation of the stress that\u2019s really getting to me now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Even though there is a general consensus about the stressful aspects of college for everyone \u2013 from moving in and making friends to final exams \u2013 why did Tocheny \u00a0think she should not show any anxiety she might be feeling?<\/p>\n

This aspect of college life has created a stigma of perfectionism present on the University of Richmond campus that has resulted in more negative effects for women than men, such as higher self-reported levels of stress.<\/p>\n

The unbalanced results of striving for perfection have led to a gender gap concerning the emotional health and well-being of students on campus.<\/p>\n

The people Tocheny was trying to impress included some of her new friends at Richmond. Tocheny admitted that it was difficult at first to confide in new friends.<\/p>\n

She said that moving in and meeting new people was stressful, so she found herself often turning to her best friend from home. \u201cShe was going through the same thing. It was definitely easier talking to her,\u201d Tocheny said.<\/p>\n

In accordance with Tocheny\u2019s desire to appear happy, the perception students have of one another might be more important than the reality of other students\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

When asked how her female friends\u2019 and her own levels of stress compared to those of their male friends, Tocheny did not think they compared.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a little more worried about the partying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To Tocheny, it did not seem as though the male students she knows were as stressed academically.<\/p>\n

Opposite of that opinion is Dan Kelly, a Richmond College sophomore.<\/p>\n

When asked whether he perceived his female peers to be more stressed than he and his male friends, Kelly sincerely asked, \u201cWhy would they be more stressed?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly \u00a0said he believed his academic demands to be equal to those of any female or male student taking a normal course load at Richmond.<\/p>\n

Allie Miller, a senior and president of Westhampton College Government Association, is another woman who believes the men she knows are much less stressed than she and the women she is around.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they have worries and some anxieties about the future,\u201d Miller said of her male friends, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t seem to me that they would describe it as stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

One reason women may believe the men on Richmond\u2019s campus are less stressed than they are is that the men are less vocal about the stress they experience.<\/p>\n

Peter LeViness, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Richmond, said that men tend to not vocalize their feelings of anxiety or distress.<\/p>\n

LeViness said, \u201cMany men are socialized not to ask for help, not to be vulnerable, to always be in control, and always tough it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly described the reality of LeViness\u2019 belief. \u201cIf you go sit down at the lunch table and start complaining about how much work you have,\u201d he said, \u201cthen everyone is just going to call you a girl and tell you that they have the same pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to agreeing with Kelly\u2019s comments on men keeping feelings to themselves, Eric D\u2019Agostino, another Richmond College sophomore, also said he\u00a0 believed that women were more likely to vocalize their stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re more likely to see a girl running around, being like, \u2018I\u2019m so stressed! I have all this work to do,\u2019 than you would see a guy doing that,\u201d D\u2019Agostino said.<\/p>\n

This idea of men suppressing their feelings correlates with the number of men seeking help at CAPS compared to the number of women, according to LeViness. 65 percent of students coming to CAPS are women.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is greater incidence of some issues in women than in men,\u201d LeViness said, \u201cbut also, women are more likely to seek help than men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with being more willing to ask for help from a professional, women are also more likely to confide in other women, according to LeViness.<\/p>\n

Confiding in others is not always a successful stress-reliever, however. LeViness said that mutual complaining, or co-rumination, can detract from the well-being of all of those involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it leads them to say, \u2018What can we do about it?\u2019 that could be positive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Miller said she and her friends had learned to try to balance talking about the stress they were experiencing with discussions of how to move beyond the stress, or to handle it better.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, my roommate and I would talk about our stress all the time,\u201d Miller said, \u201cand it almost became negative, so this year we\u2019ve been so much better about, like, designated time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the studies conducted by CAPS provide statistics to support the gender gap in many psychological aspects of life for men and women at Richmond.<\/p>\n

In a 2006 survey assessing the mental health needs of first- and second- year students, women reported a higher frequency of concern by 10 percent or more in the following areas: difficulty coping with high anxiety during tests; feeling anxious, tense, or worried; feeling overwhelmed by all the academic work I have; concerns about my physical appearance; and difficulty coping with perfectionistic tendencies.<\/p>\n

In the same study, men reported a significantly higher frequency of concern than women in two areas: getting drunk and having low motivation for academic work.<\/p>\n

Both of these areas were relevant to Kelly. \u201cI think the way that I relieve stress is the weekend, and drinking alcohol, to be quite honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kelly also said that any motivation he did have to do schoolwork could be easily dissuaded by an opportunity to socialize with friends. Compared to high school, he said, the social pressure in college is much greater.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many people trying to distract you actively,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to keep focused with people around you who are trying to bring you down.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is difficult to turn down opportunities to spend time with your friends at college, especially during your first year, when finding close friends is so important. Juliette Landphair, dean of Westhampton College, said, \u201cIt\u2019s stressful for any student \u2013 the pressure to make new friends. They\u2019re feeling like they\u2019re the only ones here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tocheny noted this pressure during the first few days of orientation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely weird being so far from home and making friends,\u201d she said, \u201cat the same time, everyone is in the same boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landphair also noted that women have a harder time going far away from home than men do. \u201cThe family tends to be a little more protective of the female students than male students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In the long term, however, Landphair says the experience away from home has proven to be beneficial for women. \u201cThe further female students go away from home,\u201d she said, \u201cthe more \u2013 over the span of their college experience \u2013 the more self-confident they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richmond students are agreeably go-getters, over achievers. Academics were important in high school to students, and a selective university such as this is typically only a good match for those willing to take on a challenging workload.<\/p>\n

When recalling her own college experience at Tulane University in New Orleans, Landphair said the stresses she did experienced there could not compare to what she understood to be typical now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI napped almost every day,\u201d she said. \u201cCollege was just this big, kind of relaxation thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landphair is particularly interested in the lifestyle of Westhampton women, and she has done research and has had an article published about the stigma of perfectionism among college-aged women.<\/p>\n

In her 2007 article \u201cNever Perfect Enough: The Private Struggles of College Women,\u201d Landphair discusses the idea of \u201c\u2018effortless perfection\u2019: the expectation that one would be smart, accomplished, fit, beautiful and popular, and that all this would happen without visible effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

LeViness also noted the relevance of the pressure on college-aged women to be perfect. \u201cIt\u2019s like trying to be super, super excellent at everything that they\u2019re doing,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes when they\u2019re listing all the things they\u2019re involved in, I start feeling stressed. Human beings have limits, and most of us can\u2019t juggle that many things.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 2006 CAPS study mentioned above, 38.5 percent of women reported frequently having concerns about the difficulty of coping with perfectionistic tendencies, compared with 20 perent of men.<\/p>\n

Kerry Boland, a Westhampton College sophomore, said that most of the pressure she fel to succeed was self-imposed, but also that part of Richmond\u2019s atmosphere encouraged hard work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like there\u2019s also kind of \u2013 especially at Richmond \u2013 a kind of pressure, because everyone is doing so many different things,\u201d Boland said.<\/p>\n

Miller agreed, saying, \u201cI think Richmond attracts students who want to do well, so students strive to do well regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landphair also referred to Richmond as a selective university whose students have been over-achievers in their lives up to this point, and expect to do just as well in college.<\/p>\n

For females, Landphair said, \u201cThere\u2019s the pressure that they feel \u2013 self-imposed or outside-imposed \u2013 to do well. There\u2019s the academic stress and pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the physical pressure to look \u2013 weight-wise and face-wise and dress-wise \u2013 a certain way. There\u2019s the stress of \u2018what is my life going to be after I graduate?\u2019 The seniors are starting to feel that anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Statements such as these by Landphair, and statistics such as those gathered by CAPS make it appear as if Richmond women actually are harboring more stress and anxiety than their male counterparts.<\/p>\n

But, as Kelly said, women are essentially facing the same academic pressures as men, so why should they be any more stressed?<\/p>\n

For women, it might be more than simply academics causing the stress in their lives.<\/p>\n

Kelly said she believed there was more of an expectation for girls to be perfect than guys. \u201cI think girls are expected to be more perfect in every single area of their lives,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know any girl on this campus who would admit to having bad grades to anyone. Externally, it seems like girls are always on top of their stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

LeViness said that the \u201cstuff\u201d women do is typically more demanding and more responsibility-driven than the things in which men are involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s courses and double majors,\u201d LeViness said, \u201cstudent organizations and volunteering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linda Sax, in her book \u201cThe Gender Gap in College,\u201d concurs with this idea. She says being overwhelmed by responsibilities can affect both men and women, but it is a more significant source of stress for female students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is likely due to the range of responsibilities that women undertake,\u201d Sax says, \u201cvolunteering, participating in student clubs, fulfilling household commitments, studying \u2013 more frequently than do men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller said that her senior year had been exponentially more stressful than her past years at Richmond.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that the activities themselves are stressful,\u201d Miller said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just the lack of time that makes it stressful.\u201d Miller is also in charge of all of the finances for her sorority.<\/p>\n

The way men comparatively spend their non-academic, leisure time might be the key to their lower, self-reported levels of stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen are more likely to build (into their days) things like video games or athletics,\u201d LeViness said. \u201cYou could think of those as time wasters, but I also think of them as stress relievers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landphair concurred and has her experience as dean to back up\u00a0 those ideas. \u00a0\u201cWomen students don\u2019t deal with stress very well,\u201d she said. \u201cMale college students, they veg out more, they go throw the Frisbee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly credits playing video games as an effective, short-lived distraction from schoolwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s better if I play one game of FIFA and then get to my work,\u201d he said, \u201cthan if I procrastinate on Facebook for three hours and then get to my work. It\u2019s better to just completely forget about it for a little while, and then come back to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from video games, LeViness strongly advocates participating in some kind of physical activity. It is an important element contributing to students\u2019 physical and emotional health.<\/p>\n

He described from a psychological point of view why physical activity is important in times of stress. \u201cIt\u2019s the flight or fight reaction,\u201d he said of your body when experiencing stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour body is being mobilized to take physical action,\u201d he said, \u201cbut for most of our modern stresses, physical action isn\u2019t an appropriate response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, even though students tend to know physical activity is beneficial for them, it is one of the first things students will sacrifice when they begin to feel swamped with responsibilities.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Agostino said that for most of this semester he had been able to go to the gym frequently, and that he recognized that exercising helped relieve stress; however, \u201cin the past few weeks,\u201d he said, \u201cas the workload has increased, the first thing to cut is the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other aspect of a healthy lifestyle that is not respected by college students is proper sleeping habits, \u00a0LeViness said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think college is the single-hardest time to regularize your sleep in any way, shape or form,\u201d LeViness said, \u201c but the more you can get closer to that, the better you will feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something students might not expect is LeViness\u2019 comparison of trying to do work on multiple nights of minimal sleep to trying to do work after drinking a six-pack of beer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people know that wouldn\u2019t be a good idea, but they do that to themselves with sleep, yet that\u2019s just as impairing,\u201d LeViness said.<\/p>\n

Landphair said that women didn\u2019t deal with stress very well, except perhaps in the way it drove them to further push themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why women are thriving academically compared to men,\u201d she said; however, more concern for academics may lead to academic success, but it will not necessarily lead to a stress-free life.<\/p>\n

In her book, Sax says, \u201cOne thing is clear: the more time students spend trying to meet academic demands does not reduce the pressure they feel to meet those commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By Maggie Burch Nora Tocheny, a first-year Westhampton College student, said she felt the need to keep up appearances during her first semester of college. \u201cAs a freshman,\u201d she said, \u201cyou want to come in always happy, always willing to meet people.\u201d Tocheny felt as though she should always try to keep a … Continue reading Females are more affected by campus stress than males<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12585,209],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall-2011","category-news-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/studentvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}