Doctoral Students' Perceptions of Stress, Stressors, and Coping Strategies
| dc.contributor.advisor | Cuddapah, Jennifer | |
| dc.contributor.author | Kazemifar Askari, Heidi | |
| dc.contributor.department | Hood College Graduate | en_US |
| dc.contributor.program | Hood College Organizational Leadership | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-12-12T13:42:24Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-12-12T13:42:24Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Executive doctoral programs in organizational leadership are increasing. These programs are organized in such a way that students can take classes on the weekends or evenings without having to leave their jobs. With the negative impact of stress on doctoral students’ well-being, academic performance, and attrition, little is known about executive doctoral students’ experiences of stress in these programs. This phenomenological case study of stress, informed by 15 doctoral students and three faculty, explored doctoral students’ perceptions and experiences of stress. Analysis of the participants’ interviews revealed that students expected stress to be part of the doctoral program and that the stress they experienced was manageable. Findings from this study showed time, time management, balance of work, life, and study, the dissertation process, and heavy workload as sources of stress similar to other doctoral programs. Two stressors for executive doctoral students, not mentioned in other studies, were Saturday classes and the required statistics course. Challenges related to work and family and the pandemic were students’ stressors outside of the program. Executive doctoral students stress impacted their wellbeing more than the quality/quantity of their research and their decision to leave academia. Coping strategies reported were planning and prioritizing, being mindful, exercising, and taking a break; however, participants stated that there was no universal solution for coping with stress. 12 By gaining an in-depth understanding of the students’ perceptions of stress, as well as students’ and faculties’ perceptions of sources of stress and effective coping strategies, this study informs future doctoral students’ understanding of stress and the program stressors so they would know what to expect when they enter programs. The study can help universities unlock new methods for managing stress or assist universities in improving existing strategies. Effective strategies have the potential to impact students’ well-being, academic performance, and attrition rates. Future research can focus on comparative studies to see how the results compare to the findings in other doctoral programs. Given the different roles and responsibilities of executive doctoral students, universities, program directors and faculty should learn more about students’ stress so they can better assist students in mitigating it. | en_US |
| dc.genre | dissertation | en_US |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.13016/m295db-oa4k | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11603/26438 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States | en_US |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ | * |
| dc.title | Doctoral Students' Perceptions of Stress, Stressors, and Coping Strategies | en_US |
| dc.type | Text | en_US |