Benue State University, Makurdi

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS, SEX AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG A SAMPLE OF NIGERIAN POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS

Asan Joseph Kum, Patrick Ussa Blessing and Anongo Fredrick Sonter

Abstract

This study was a cross-sectional survey that examined the influence of Environmental Stress and sex on Academic Performance among Students of Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola. A total of 139 students were sampled from various departments in the institution using two sampling techniques. Participants responded to measures of demographic characteristics, Environmental Worry Scale (EWS), which was used to measure environmental Stressors; and students' Academic Performance, which was assessed using their CGPAs. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested using Two-Way Analysis of Variance. Results indicate that students who experienced high level of environmental stress significantly recorded lower mean score on academic performance than their counterparts who experienced average and low stress. However, there was no sex difference in academic performance and no significant interactive effect of environmental stress and gender on academic performance. The study concluded that environmental stress is one of the major reasons accounting for poor academic performance amongst polytechnic students in Nigeria irrespective of sex. Based on these findings, the research recommends for provision of adequate facilities and stress management interventions to reduce environmental stress and consequently improve academic performance of Nigerian higher education students.

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