Prevalence and correlates of university students’ perceived stress in southwestern Saudi Arabia

The university period can be stressful for most students. It may be due to exposure to various stressors. Objectives: To establish the prevalence and factors associated with high perceived stress among university undergraduates in south-western Saudi Arabia. A self-administered survey was conducted among a representative sample of King Khalid University students through a cross-sectional study. Data obtained included socio-economic, academic characteristics, and grade point average (GPA) scores. Stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale. This study included 2467 students. The average Perceived Stress Scale score was 19.13 ± 6.56, which was notably higher (P = .02) among health care undergraduates (19.45 ± 6.49) compared to others (18.85 ± 6.61). High perceived stress prevalence rate was 12.7% (13.6% in health care institutions and 12.0% in non-healthcare institutions). Multivariable analysis revealed that high perceived stress was considerably greater among females (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.35, 95% confidence interval:167–3.30), smokers (aOR = 1.65), those with an unsatisfactory income (aOR = 3.10), and healthcare students (aOR=1.33). In contrast, it was negatively associated with the GPA score (aOR= 0.77). High perceived stress is a substantial problem among university students. Female students and healthcare students are at a greater risk. High stress is correlated with smoking, lower GPA scores, and perceived insufficient family income.