Academic Stress in College Students: Descriptive Analyses and Scoring of the SISCO-II Inventory

In a competitive and demanding world, academic stress is of increasing concern to students. This systemic, adaptive, and psychological process is composed of stressful stimuli, imbalance symptoms, and coping strategies. The SISCO-II Academic Stress Inventory (SISCO-II-AE) is a psychometric instrument validated in Chile. It evaluates stressors, symptoms, and coping, both individually and globally. For its practical interpretation, a scale is required. Therefore, this study aims to descriptively analyze the SISCO-II-AE and to obtain its corresponding scales. In this non-experimental quantitative study, the SISCO-II-AE was administered to 1049 second-and third-year students from three Chilean universities (75.21% female and 24.79% male). Descriptive and bivariate analyses were carried out, establishing norms based on percentiles. For the complete instrument and its subscales, significant differences by sex were identified, with magnitudes varying from small to moderate. For the full instrument and its subscales, bar scale norms by percentile and sex are presented. Each subscale (stressors, physical and psychological reactions, social behavioural reactions, total reaction, and coping) has score ranges defined for low, medium, and high levels. These ranges vary according to the sex of the respondent, with notable differences in stressors and physical, psychological, and social behavioural reactions. This study stands out for its broad and heterogeneous sample, which enriches the representativeness of the data. It offers a comprehensive view of academic stress in college students, identifying distinctive factors and highlighting the importance of gender-sensitive approaches. Its findings contribute to understanding and guide future interventions. This study provides a descriptive analysis of the SISCO-II-AE inventory and establishes bar norms for assessing academic stress in college students, which is beneficial for both health professionals and educators.

在竞争日趋激烈、要求日益严苛的当下，学生群体的学业压力问题愈发受到关注。学业压力作为一种系统性、适应性且兼具心理属性的过程，由压力源、失衡症状与应对策略三部分构成。智利地区经过效度验证的SISCO-II学业压力量表（SISCO-II-AE）属于心理测评工具，可分别及整体评估压力源、症状与应对方式。为实现量表的实用化解读，需建立配套的计分常模。因此本研究旨在对SISCO-II-AE进行描述性分析，并构建其对应的计分常模。本研究为非实验性定量研究，向智利三所高校的1049名大二、大三学生施测了SISCO-II-AE，其中女性受试者占比75.21%，男性占比24.79%。研究采用描述性分析与双变量分析方法，基于百分位数构建了相应常模。针对完整量表及其各子量表，研究发现存在显著的性别差异，效应量大小从弱至中等不等。针对完整量表及各子量表，本研究呈现了按性别与百分位数划分的分段常模。各子量表（包括压力源、生理与心理反应、社会行为反应、总反应以及应对方式）均划分了低、中、高三个水平的得分区间。这些区间会根据受访者性别存在差异，其中压力源、生理反应、心理反应及社会行为反应的性别差异尤为显著。本研究的样本覆盖广泛且异质性强，有效提升了数据的代表性，这也是本研究的一大亮点。本研究全面呈现了大学生学业压力的现状，明确了相关差异化影响因素，并凸显了性别敏感型研究与干预路径的重要性。本研究结果有助于深化学界对学业压力的认知，并可为后续干预实践提供指导。本研究完成了对SISCO-II-AE量表的描述性分析，并构建了用于评估大学生学业压力的分段常模，可为医疗从业者与教育工作者提供实用参考。