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A Survey of Self-Reported Problems Among Tertiary Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

Albert Mellam  and
Terence Kuaru
Albert Mellam*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology & Philosophy, University of Papua New Guinea
Terence Kuaru
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology & Philosophy, University of Papua New Guinea
*
Department of Psychology and Philosophy, University of Papua New Guinea, Box 320, University Post Office, NCD, Papua New Guinea
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Extract

People moving into a new environment often find the process stressful (Cochrane, 1983; Cochrane & Stopes-Roe, 1980). One of the reasons for the stress is that the new environment may not provide substitutes for the losses incurred during the process of relocation (Beck & Young, 1978). Separation anxiety, loss, interruption of lifestyle, reduced control over the psychosocial environment, role change, and self-consciousness are all after-effects of the relocation process (Fisher, 1988).

In general, migrants move as a group or as a family unit (Marmot & Syme, 1976; Murphy, 1976), but this is not true for students. Despite the fact that students often perceive their relocation as a challenging life event (Fulmer, Medalie, & Lord, 1982), they must face the challenge on their own, for they cannot count on the support and comfort of family and old friends. Furthermore, their relocation is to a competitive environment in which they are exposed to a range of stressors which, in all likelihood, are novel.

Students commonly experience problems following their relocation. The problems are related to change of culture (Oberg, 1960), to racial discrimination, and to change of diet and climate (Dyal & Dyal, 1981; Murphy, 1977; Nicassio & Pate, 1984). Other problems, including fatigue and headaches (Miller & Harwell, 1983), homesickness (Fisher, 1988; Fisher & Murray, 1984), and language difficulties (Mellam, 1989) may be more common to students than to other migrant groups.

Type
Articles
Information
South Pacific Journal of Psychology , Volume 5 , 1992 , pp. 24 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © University of Papua New Guinea & University of Central Queensland 1992

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