SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW: ACADEMIC STRESS FACTORS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Received: 28th April 2026, Revised: 08th June 2026, 15th June 2026, Accepted: 17th June 2026, Date of Publication: 29th July 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20319/socv.10.136152Keywords:
Academic Stress, Emotional Intelligence, University Students, Systematic ReviewAbstract
Academic stress is defined as an unpleasant psychological situation due to pressure obtained from the education system, exams, or high academic expectations by family or oneself. The factors that cause academic stress vary widely, so holistic research is needed to identify the factors. This study aims to identify the factors affecting academic stress. This study is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 12 selected articles from electronic databases such as ScienceDirect by Elsevier, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Studies were selected based on specific inclusion criteria, focusing on peer-reviewed articles published within the last five years that examined emotional and environmental determinants of stress. These articles were obtained through a multi-stage screening process based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The findings show that academic stress in college students is linked with several factors, including emotional intelligence, emotional regulation, social support, the educational environment, parental expectations, and family involvement. The implications of these findings suggest that academic institutions and counselors should establish targeted workshops and supportive sharing platforms within campus services to mitigate student academic pressure.
References
Al-Shahrani, M. M., Alasmri, B. S., Al-Shahrani, R. M., Al-Moalwi, N. M., Al Qahtani, A. A., & Siddiqui, A. F. (2023). The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Academic Stress among Medical Students of King Khalid University: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study. Healthcare (Switzerland), 11(14), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11142029
Attia, M., Ibrahim, F. A., Elsady, M. A. E., Khorkhash, M. K., Rizk, M. A., Shah, J., & Amer, S. A. (2022). Cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral stress-related symptoms and coping strategies among university students during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13(933981), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.933981
Awadalla, N. J., Mirdad, T. M., & Abbag, F. I. (2021). perceived stress in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Medicine, 38(5), 1–5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8462648/pdf/medi-100-e27295.pdf
Barbayannis, G., Bandari, M., Zheng, X., Baquerizo, H., Pecor, K. W., & Ming, X. (2022). Academic Stress and Mental Well-Being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(May), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886344
Çınar-Tanrıverdi, E., & Karabacak-Çelik, A. (2023). Psychological need satisfaction and academic stress in college students: mediator role of grit and academic self-efficacy. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 38(1), 131–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-022-00658-1
de la Fuente, J., González-Torres, M. C., Artuch-Garde, R., Vera-Martínez, M. M., Martínez-Vicente, J. M., & Peralta-S’anchez, F. J. (2021). Resilience as a Buffering Variable Between the Big Five Components and Factors and Symptoms of Academic Stress at University. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12(600240), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.600240
de la Fuente, J., Peralta-Sánchez, F. J., Martínez-Vicente, J. M., Sander, P., Garzón-Umerenkova, A., & Zapata, L. (2021). Effects of Self-Regulation vs. External Regulation on the Factors and Symptoms of Academic Stress in Undergraduate Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1773), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01773
Fakapulia, I. F., Samalia, L., & Wibowo, E. (2023). Social factors are associated with academic stress in Pasifika students at the University of Otago. Waikato Journal of Education, 28(1), 125–139.
https://doi.org/10.15663/wje.v28i1.1040
Gradiski, I. P., Borovecki, A., Ćurković, M., San-Martín, M., Delgado Bolton, R. C., & Vivanco, L. (2022). Burnout in International Medical Students: Characterization of Professionalism and Loneliness as Predictive Factors of Burnout. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031385
Ibrahim, R. K., Al Sabbah, S., Al-Jarrah, M., Senior, J., Almomani, J. A., Darwish, A., Albannay, F., & Al Naimat, A. (2024). The mediating effect of digital literacy and self-regulation on the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress among university students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education, 24(1), 1–13.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06279-0
Iqbal, I., Raza, M. A., Nasim, F., & Naheed, F. (2023). Relationship among Smartphone Addiction, Interpersonal Relationships and Academic Stress at University Level. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(3), 3438–3448. https://doi.org/10.52131/pjhss.2023.1103.0625
Jamlu, M. S. (2025). Relationship among Academic Stress , Motivation and Academic Achievement of Diploma Students in College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies Ilorin , Nigeria. Journal of African Innovation & Advanced Studies (JALAS), 7(2), 295–306.
Khorasani, E. C., Ardameh, M., Sany, S. B. T., Tehrani, H., Ghavami, V., & Gholian-aval, M. (2023). The influence of emotional intelligence on academic stress among medical students in Neyshabur, Iran. BMC Psychiatry, 23(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05344-0
McEown, K., McEown, M. S., & Oga-Baldwin, W. L. Q. (2024). The role of trait emotional intelligence in predicting academic stress, burnout, and engagement in Japanese second language learners. Current Psychology, 43(2), 1395–1405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04296-8
Merlin Joseph, & Sudhesh N.T. (2023). Academic Stress, Social Support, and Adjustment Among International Students in India. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 15(3), 5–17.
https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v15i3.4756
Putra, A. H., & Ardi, Z. (2024). Determinant Factors of Academic Stress: A Study of First-Year University Students in Indonesia. Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan Dan Konseling, 9(1), 55–67.
https://doi.org/10.17977/um001v9i12024p55-67
Shengyao, Y., Salarzadeh Jenatabadi, H., Mengshi, Y., Minqin, C., Xuefen, L., & Mustafa, Z. (2024). Academic resilience, self-efficacy, and motivation: the role of parenting style. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 1–14.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55530-7
Ullah, M. S., Akhter, S., Aziz, M. A., & Islam, M. (2023). Social support: mediating the emotional intelligence-academic stress link. Frontiers in Psychology, 14(1218636), 1–14.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1218636
Zheng, G., Zhang, Q., & Ran, G. (2023). The association between academic stress and test anxiety in college students: The mediating role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and the moderating role of parental expectations. Frontiers in Psychology, 14(1008679), 1–9.
