Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314, USA.
Stress. 2010 Jul;13(4):365-70. doi: 10.3109/10253891003615473.
Academic examination stress is reported to increase physiological and self-report measures of stress and to decrease immune functioning. Here, we investigate biochemical and self-report measures of stress, immune functioning, and academic pressures before and during a midterm examination period. Undergraduate students were asked to complete a measure of global stress, the perceived stress scale (PSS-10), and to indicate their current level of perceived stress. They also answered questions regarding specific academic pressures and provided a saliva sample for cortisol and salivary immunoglobulin-A (S-IgA) quantification. Students showed increased salivary cortisol concentrations and also reported greater acute perceived stress during the examination period compared to the non-examination period. Although cortisol concentrations and perceived stress were significantly higher during the examination period, participants reported similar levels of global stress (PSS-10) during both testing sessions. Additional analyses showed a non-significant increase in the level of S-IgA from the non-examination period to the examination period. Specific pressure variables that appeared to contribute to stress regulation during the examination week included the amount of time spent studying and concern about the impact of examinations in the future. By demonstrating measures of chronic examination stress, these findings provide new insight into the complex relationship between examination stress, cortisol, and immune functioning.
学术考试压力据报道会增加生理和自我报告的压力指标，并降低免疫功能。在这里，我们研究了中期考试前后生化和自我报告的压力、免疫功能和学术压力指标。我们要求本科生完成一项总体压力指标、感知压力量表（PSS-10），并表明他们目前的感知压力水平。他们还回答了关于具体学术压力的问题，并提供了唾液样本以量化皮质醇和唾液免疫球蛋白 A（S-IgA）。与非考试期间相比，学生在考试期间表现出唾液皮质醇浓度升高，并且报告的急性感知压力更大。尽管考试期间皮质醇浓度和感知压力明显更高，但参与者在两次测试期间报告的总体压力（PSS-10）水平相似。进一步的分析显示，S-IgA 的水平从非考试期到考试期略有升高。似乎有助于在考试周进行压力调节的特定压力变量包括学习时间和对未来考试影响的关注程度。通过证明慢性考试压力的措施，这些发现为考试压力、皮质醇和免疫功能之间的复杂关系提供了新的见解。
