The interplay between social environment, perceived stress and coping among students: A case of Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences

The social environment plays a crucial role in shaping students' learning experiences and mental well-being, ultimately impacting their academic performance. The study examined the interplay between social environment, perceived academic stress and coping strategies. The study participants were 374 undergraduate students enrolled at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences in Blantyre, Malawi. The students completed an online self-administered questionnaire, which was designed through Google Forms, a cloud-based data management tool, and was sent through different social media channels. The collected data
were computed using IBM® SPSS® Statistics version 26. Reliability tests for the scales, descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted. The results indicated that the perceived stress is generally high among the students, but they used both functional and dysfunctional strategies to cope with their stress. Further, only support from lecturers, which is a functional coping strategy, negatively predicted academic stress, and dysfunctional coping strategies, such as alcohol abuse, positively predicted academic stress. These findings highlight the importance of reinforcing effective coping mechanisms and support networks to improve students' well-being and academic achievement.