1. Stress Tolerance Among the Millennials: Issues of Measurement
Helen Graf, Ph.D.
Bridge Melton, Ed.D.
Department of Health and Kinesiology
Georgia Southern University
AAHPERD Conference
April 3, 2009

2. Purpose
Describe the unique characteristics of the Millennium generation as related to stress.
Present the research findings that reveals the techniques employed by this generation to handle stress and coping mechanisms significantly related to high stress tolerance among the Millennials.
Provide example activities for the Millennials that are based on the research findings.
This leads me to the purpose of the research project, which was to determine if certain factors buffer against stress better in one gender or in one race. If this is true, classes can be tailored to the group being taught in order to make the education process more efficient.

3. High Level Millennial Characteristics
Diverse
Special
Sheltered
Confident
Millennials Rising, Howe & Strauss, 2000
Millennials Go to College, Howe & Strauss, 2003
DIVERSE
By 2010, minority groups will make up 52% of the under-18 population, 20% of Millennials are second-generation immigrants, 1 in 10 has a non-citizen parent
In regard to interracial dating – 82% in a react.com 1999 poll say love should be colorblind
With Internet, satellite news, porous national borders, and end of Cold War, 1st generation to think of itself as global
SPECIAL
Precious “Babies on Board” of 1980s, Inculcated as vital to nation and parents’ sense of purpose
High expectations that can feel like entitlement, particularly around housing and food service
Need for feedback, reinforcement, structure in the classroom
Special needs with individual plans & parent advocacy, e.g. learning disabilities
Consumer mentality – have been marketed to since birth
SHELTERED
How many had or rode in a car with the BABY on BOARD signed?
Safety a high priority from birth, Zero tolerance in schools, Increased supervision
Depression and teenage suicide rates down, but addressing emotional problems & learning disabilities a higher priority – more reliance on psychotropic medication
Trust in adults and reliance on authorities – not used to speaking for themselves
But increased scrutiny and challenge if answer isn’t what family wants to hear – but parent more likely to “protest” than student
CONFIDENT
90% of teens say they are personally happy and excited about future
Old message to teens was horrible things will happen if you don’t make right choice; new message is good things will happen if you make right choice
Fewer intellectual risks; more conformity; fear of failure, they want to do what is right or correct

4. High Level Millennial Characteristics, Cont’
Team-Oriented
Conventional
Pressured
Achieving
Unlike any other youths in living memory
Births to teens continue to decline – 28% decline since 1990, among younger teens, 38% decline – abortion rate also down among this age group (NCES, 2003)
Political awareness higher than in a decade; drinking and smoking lowest levels in several decades (CIRP, 2003)
Developing a meaningful philosophy of life has declined as a life goal (CIRP, 2003)
TEAM ORIENTED
Working & involved in teams since toddler hood
Peer pressure more often toward achievement than misbehavior
Truly enjoy community service; may be more involved with politics & voting
Extreme is conforming – individualism (and even creativity) are suspect
The “Organization Kid” (Brooks, 2001)
Have led lives that are structured, supervised and stuffed with enrichment
Little free time, tightly packed existence
Optimists, cooperative team players
Accept authority, rule followers
PRESSURED
Two greatest worries among teens are grades and college admission (20 years ago-nuclear war and 10 years ago-AIDS and violent crime)
Long term plans to seek security, stability, and life balance – have experienced economic downturns & job loss and sometimes chaotic family life
But few skills to achieve balance and frequently feel “overwhelmed” – structured group activities important for this
ACHIEVING
ACT & SAT scores have stabilized or increased, despite larger & more diverse pool
It’s become cool to be smart
In addition to starting to catch up to academics around the world, US Millennials unique in commitment to arts, leadership, sports, service
Have a high regard for their own generation – they know they’re a powerhouse of achievers
Can bail out if something is hard; fear of failure

5. Stress and Stress Tolerance
Health Effects of Stress
Huge!
Stress Tolerance
some people can seemingly handle large amounts of stress while others are crippled with much less
Measuring Stress Tolerance
Looking at factors that buffer against stress
Identify certain lifestyle habits and coping strategies that may be significantly associated with high or low stress tolerance in college students
Stress is important because it is negatively impacting student…..
Estimated 75-90% of physician visits are caused by stress (Hales, 2004).
Seventy-five percent of Americans feel they have “great stress” one day a week, while one-third of Americans feel this way twice a week (American Institute of Stress, 2005).
Stress is associated with signs and symptoms of mental disorders (SAMSHA, 1999).
CDC now estimates that 1 in 2 Americans are annually diagnosed with a mental disorder (CDC, 2005a).
Adolescents exhibiting maladaptive coping patterns to stress have higher rates of aggression, acting out, anxiety, and depression (Printz, et al 1999; Swearingen & Cohen, 1985).

6. Measuring Stress Among Millennials
Stress still a factor, maybe under more stress because:
High achieving (Welle, 2006)
Parental expectations
Fear of failure
Areas of Stress (Blackmore, Tucker & Jones, 2005):
Financial
Interpersonal
Personal
Academic
Professional Competence
Time
Physical Issues
What to Measure? Stress? Stress Levels?
How to Quantify? LCU? Intensity? Frequency?
Practical Applications?

7. Methods
Multiphase Study
2006: Cross sectional, quantitative, analytical, quasi- experimental study(n=479) (Welle, 2006).
Used Established Stress Instruments (DH, LE, SS)
Quantified Stress Tolerance
Difficulty with Stress Measurements Among Millenials
2007: Qualitative Nominal Group Process Study
Input on DH, LE, SS and CM
Updated Instruments
Spring 2008 (Pilot):
Cross sectional, quantitative, analytical, non-experimental study. (n=157)
Updated Established Stress Instruments
Non-probability Sample of Convenience
Statistical differences in exposures between the case or ill group (low stress tolerance) and the control or well group (high stress tolerance) were studied.
Slide 6: A retrospective study is one in which a diseased group, the case, is compared to a healthy group, the control. Through this methodology cause-effect relationships can be explored. The disease under study was low stress tolerance, or stress intolerance.
Life Events Checklist (LEC)- (Holmes & Rahe, 1967; Coddington, 1972; Johnson 1980).
From 37 items to 32.
Daily Hassles Questionnaire (DHQ)- (Ryan Wenger et al, 2005; Edlin & Golanty, 2007; Miller & Rahe, 1997).
From 31 items to 38.
Stress Symptom Scale was taken from Schafer (1992).
From 45 items to 42

8. Instrumentation Final: Validity: Construct Validity
Live Events: 32
Daily Hassles: 40
Symptoms: 42
Coping Mechanisms: 29
Demographics: 5
Validity: Construct Validity
Factor Analysis (factor load <0.40)
Inter-Item Correlation
Reliability: Overall Cronbach Alpha = 0.766

9. Operationalizing Stress Tolerance
Divide frequency count of stressors by the symptomatology score, a stress tolerance score can be obtained:
___________Stressors__________________
Symptomatolgy Score
A person with many stressors and few symptoms can be said to have high stress tolerance (control).
Conversely, few stressors and many symptoms indicate low stress tolerance (case).
Subject 331- Stressors = 11
Symptomatology Score = 160
Stress Tolerance Score = 0.07
These first two statements are common sense once you think about them. A person with a lot of stressors, a lot of problems, essentially, and few symptoms of stress, has high stress tolerance. A person with very few stressors in their life, and a lot of symptoms, anxiety, etc…, has very low stress tolerance.

10. Data Analysis
<1.4 was defined as low stress tolerance (n=82), and >1.6 (n=88) was defined as high stress tolerance
Statistical tests included descriptive statistics, chi-squares, and Odds Ratios reported with 95% Confidence Intervals.
Disease Status
Yes No
Exposure Yes a b a+b
Status No c d c+d
a+c b+d
Risk: <1.00 Protective Factor, = 1.00 Equal Exposure, > 1.00 Risk Factor
The next hurdle to clear was how to define when a person was sick was defined as low stress tolerance, and 0.6 and up was defined as high stress tolerance. This left almost an identical number in each group. 80 surveys were deemed in the middle and were not used in the comparing part of the study. Statistical tests included descriptive statistics, chi-squares, and Odds Ratios reported with 95% Confidence Intervals. All 459 surveys, each containing 139 individual variables, were manually entered into SPSS 12.0.

11. RESULTS & DISCUSSION

12. Participant Profile
The breakdown of study matches very closely to that of the university population in gender and race. Examining the year in school category and the age category will show the overrepresentation of younger college students.

13. Table 2:
Just go over top 3 of each

14. Highlight new additional coping mechanisms:
6 & 7

17. This table shows the first ten hypothesized protective factors under study. Three of these were significant. These protective factors were significantly more common in the high stress tolerance category than the low stress tolerance category. The significant factors are marked by an asterisk. Do you feel like you get enough social interaction, Do you participate in an extra-curricular activity that requires time or involvement on a weekly basis, and Do you get 8+ hours of sleep a night were all factors that were found to be significant.

18. Discussion
1 of the 26 factors were found to be significantly protective:
Felt Supported by Family, Friends, Teachers
9 of the 26 factors were found to be significantly a risk factor
Cleaned apartment
Called a friend
Prayed
Took Study Breaks
Called Mom
Shopping
Ate
Used Substances
This slide is a recap of the previous table.

19. Recommendations Stress Coping Mechanisms
Revise, update current textbooks, literature
Educate college students on ineffective coping mechanisms that are risk factors.
Emphasis protective factors to increase stress tolerance .
Assimilation of these findings into college general health classes and first year experience classes.
Teach parents to work with children early on stress tolerance to avoid problems in college years.
i.e. less hands-on problem solving, interceding, hovering, etc. for their child

20. Recommendations
Repeat research varying geographical locations and school settings.
National guidelines for stress tolerance could make “diagnosing” much more easy.
Cause-effect relationships should be established with more controlled experiments.
I think that research in the past has focused primarily on the population as a whole, which, as in my study, can be misleading. I think that more research needs to be done to find other factors that may augment Black stress tolerance.
A national guideline for stress tolerance or a set way of approaching stress would be very helpful. The disease in my study was relative, in other words, the people in the low stress tolerance group had lower stress tolerance, but I don’t know if it is low enough to be of concern.
Lastly, cause-effect relationships need to be established. For example, people with higher stress tolerance may get more sleep because they have less on their mind or sleep might improve one’s stress tolerance.

21. QUESTIONS?