Differences in stress levels between Albanian and German students

• Pages: 29-48

29

Balkan Journal of

Interdisciplinary Research

E-ISSN 2411-9725

ISSN 2410-759X

Vol.10 No.1

May, 2024

Dierences in stress levels between Albanian and German students

Petrit Taraj

University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali”

DOI: hps://doi.org/10.2478/bjir-2024-0003

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine and compare the factors inuencing the

increase in stress levels of students at German and Albanian universities. In addition

to descriptive statistics to analyze the data, the authors used factor analysis, the

Independent Samples t-Test, and bivariate correlation among others in the study.

An online questionnaire divided into three sections was used as a tool for data

collection. The description of statistics expressed in percentages and the data analysis

were performed using SPSS software, Version 16. The results showed that students

experienced a high level of stress, 44.1214, with some variations among them. The

results conrmed a higher level of stress among Albanian students compared to

German students. On the other hand, the results indicated that the “Fear of failing

exams” factor had a greater impact on increasing stress levels among German

students compared to Albanian students.

Keywords: academic stress, failure, aendance, employment, stress level.

1. Introduction

Academic stress is one of the major causes of stress, anxiety, and depression among

university students. It occurs when a set of study-related demands exceeds the

student’s existing abilities to manage and adapt to these demands. This includes

mental suering related to expected academic challenges or failure, or even the

fear of the possibility of academic failure. To beer understand the dierences in

stress experiences between German and Albanian students, it would be useful to

conduct further research comparing their specic experiences. This could include

factors such as cultural, socioeconomic dierences, and the dierent teaching and

learning methods in these two countries. Stress is a major issue for students and

can signicantly impact their academic performance and overall well-being. Studies

1

Vol. 9 No.2

September, 2023

Balkan Journal of Interdisciplinary Research

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

E-ISSN 2411-9725

ISSN 2410-759X

Research Article

© 2023 Ardita Abazi Imeri

This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons

Aribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

(hps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

Deliberating in the Gray Zone: North Macedonia’s Hybrid Regime and

Deliberative Democracy Exercise

Ardita Abazi Imeri

European Policy Institute (EPI) – Skopje

DOI: hps://doi.org/10.2478/bjir-2023-0001

Abstract

Deliberative polling has emerged as a promising method for promoting democratic reform

and citizen engagement in various contexts, however, its potential and limitations in hybrid

regimes, where democratic governance is challenged by a mix of democratic and authoritarian

features, remain relatively unexplored. This paper focuses on the case of North Macedonia,

as a country that has undergone signicant political and societal transformation especially in

the recent years. Despite eorts to promote democratic reforms, the country continues to face

challenges in terms of ensuring democratic governance and citizen participation. In a hybrid

regime, like North Macedonia’s, political leaders might not be inclined to value citizens’

input, and the media environment might not be free from inuence, which limits access to

varied and reliable sources of information. Civil society organizations may also encounter

limitations on their operations, and institutional assistance may be insucient. Additionally,

the population’s diversity could make it dicult to reach and build trust with citizens. In

this context, deliberative polling represents an opportunity to engage citizens in meaningful

political dialogue and institutional reform. This paper examines the potential of deliberative

polling as a tool for promoting governance in North Macedonia and highlights the challenges

and limitations faced in this process.

Keywords: deliberative poll, hybrid regime, authoritarian, democracy.

1. Introduction

Democracy around the world is in crisis. In general, the state of democracy world-

wide indicates a lack of progress (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2022). Looking at the

global picture, 2022 fell short of expectations for democracy, as it was anticipated that

the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions might result in an improvement in the

overall score. Both the Freedom House Report 2022 and the Economist Intelligence

Unit’s Democracy Index (EIU) 2022 indicate that the state of democracy around the

world is facing signicant challenges and setbacks.

Research Article

© 2024 Petrit Taraj

This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons

Aribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

(hps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

30

Vol.10 No.1

May, 2024

Balkan Journal of

Interdisciplinary Research

E-ISSN 2411-9725

ISSN 2410-759X

comparing the stress level among students from dierent universities could be useful

in understanding how the university environment and its policies aect student

stress. This could help universities improve their programs and policies to beer assist

students in managing stress. A considerable number of research studies have been

conducted to explore the correlation of stress factors. Literature review shows that

there are not many studies comparing the stress level of students from one university

to the stress levels of students from other universities. Therefore, it is time to conduct

research on this specic issue where the beneciaries are the students themselves and

the universities in planning and designing relevant programs for students in order to

reduce stress factors.

2. Research Analysis

This study aims to nd out if there is any signicant dierence in the level of perceived

stress among German and Albanian students. One of the objectives of this study is

to identify and compare which factors have a greater impact on German students

and which factors inuence the stress level of Albanian students more signicantly.

Specically, the study aims to answer the following research questions:

1. Is there a signicant dierence in the levels of experienced stress between Albanian and

German students?

2. Which specic factors contribute most signicantly to the elevation of experienced stress

levels in Albanian students, and which factors are most inuential in elevating the experienced

stress levels among German students?

Based on the literature, the study seeks to validate the main hypothesis:

H1: There are dierences in the experienced stress between students at Albanian and German

universities.

The study also aims to analyze some other hypotheses that are very important to

shed light on this signicant phenomenon in university campus environments.

H2: Class aendance impacts the escalation of stress levels among students.

H3: Fear of exam failure plays a critical role in the elevation of students’ stress levels.

H4: Employment status is a major determinant in the increase of stress levels for students.

The methodology section used in this study is described step by step based on the

objectives of the study, the analysis of results. All ndings and implications of the

results are discussed, and the necessary recommendations are presented.

3. Literature review

Not all experts in the eld of stress research concur on the signicance of the term

‘stress.’ Lazarus (1966) denes stress as a concept utilized to comprehend essential

phenomena in the adaptation processes of humans and animals. Rudland, Golding,

& Wilkinson (2020) employ the term ‘stressor’ to denote an anticipatory aspect in

education that may be perceived as either a constructive challenge or an obstacle.

The outcome, whether positive or negative for learning, hinges on the individual’s