Extensive research has examined the impact of academic, financial, and relationship-related stress on college students, highlighting their significant influence on mental health and overall well-being. However, aspects of students' lives, such as self-perceived health and happiness, also warrant investigation due to their links to stress. Network analysis offers a unique advantage by visualizing complex relationships, identifying central variables, and uncovering patterns or clusters within interconnected systems. Despite its potential, few studies have employed network analysis to explore connections between stress across multiple dimensions and students' self-perceived well-being indicators.
This study used network analysis to examine these associations among 430 Taiwanese university students (61% male) who completed surveys in their freshman and junior years. The surveys assessed stress related to parent-adolescent, intimate, and peer relationships; academic and financial stress; and ratings of academic performance, relationships, health, future outlook, and life satisfaction.
The results revealed that social stress was the most central node among the variables in both freshman and junior years. In the freshman year, stronger associations were observed between friendships and school grades, friendships and academic stress, grades and family stress, and friendships and future outlook. These patterns suggest that during the early college years, students with strong friendships tended to report better academic performance, lower academic stress, and a clearer sense of future direction. By junior year, financial stress showed a stronger negative association with life satisfaction, indicating that students experiencing higher financial stress were more likely to report lower life satisfaction. This association was weaker during the freshman year.
The findings underscore the evolving impact of stress on life domains as students progress through college, with peer relationships alleviating early stress and financial stress diminishing life satisfaction later. These results highlight the importance of support systems and strong relationships to help students manage stress and enhance well-being.