SS74 - Who Bears the Burden? Examining Acute Stressors Among BIPOC and First-Generation College Students
SCURS Disciplines
Psychology
Document Type
General Poster
Invited Presentation Choice
Not Applicable
Abstract
There are a variety of stressors that affect college students, which impact their health and academic performance (Kent et al, 2022). Due to cultural mismatch, interdependent first-generation college students (FGCS) experience higher levels of stress when in an independent college environment, making it difficult to adapt (Rockwell et al, 2025). If students perceive their stress as high and the demands of their lives overwhelm their limited resources, stress overload can occur, especially in FGCS (Amirkhan et al, 2023). In addition to first-generation students, BIPOC students also experience increased levels of stress, in part due to racial discrimination and lack of access to mental health resources (Russell et al, 2024). The current study utilized the College Student Acute Stress Scale (CSASS) to survey 171 college students on the USC Upstate campus to determine which of 14 possible stressors were producing more than a little stress (Kent et al, 2022). We examined the relationship between participants who identified as BIPOC, first/continuing generational students, and classification on perceived stress. We found schoolwork, financial problems, and work (unrelated to school) to be our four most pertinent stressors, respectively. We found an interaction between BIPOC and classification as well as BIPOC and first generation for perceived stress related to work (unrelated to school). A third interaction was found between BIPOC and classification for schoolwork as well. The implications of these findings are explored.
Start Date
10-4-2026 9:30 AM
Location
University Readiness Center Greatroom
End Date
10-4-2026 11:30 AM
SS74 - Who Bears the Burden? Examining Acute Stressors Among BIPOC and First-Generation College Students
University Readiness Center Greatroom
There are a variety of stressors that affect college students, which impact their health and academic performance (Kent et al, 2022). Due to cultural mismatch, interdependent first-generation college students (FGCS) experience higher levels of stress when in an independent college environment, making it difficult to adapt (Rockwell et al, 2025). If students perceive their stress as high and the demands of their lives overwhelm their limited resources, stress overload can occur, especially in FGCS (Amirkhan et al, 2023). In addition to first-generation students, BIPOC students also experience increased levels of stress, in part due to racial discrimination and lack of access to mental health resources (Russell et al, 2024). The current study utilized the College Student Acute Stress Scale (CSASS) to survey 171 college students on the USC Upstate campus to determine which of 14 possible stressors were producing more than a little stress (Kent et al, 2022). We examined the relationship between participants who identified as BIPOC, first/continuing generational students, and classification on perceived stress. We found schoolwork, financial problems, and work (unrelated to school) to be our four most pertinent stressors, respectively. We found an interaction between BIPOC and classification as well as BIPOC and first generation for perceived stress related to work (unrelated to school). A third interaction was found between BIPOC and classification for schoolwork as well. The implications of these findings are explored.