Abstract

• The main aim of this study was to examine the situations of stress of adolescents who are in higher education setting from different institutions in Myanmar. In addition, the study explored the causes of stress experiencing among university students by thematic analysis. In this study, mixed method was applied and descriptive and thematic analysis were executed. For quantitative phase, a total of 1100 participants (first year students) from seven universities were selected by using multistage sampling technique. Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen & Williamson, 1988) (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.82) was used to measure the students’ perception of stress. For qualitative phase, individual semi-structured interview was administrated with 48 severe stress of adolescents. According to the descriptive statistics results, the stress of adolescents in Myanmar were satisfactory. According to the results of independent samples t-test, it was found that there were significant differences in adolescents’ stress by gender and career choices. Moreover, the ANOVA results revealed that there were also significant differences in adolescents’ stress by family types. However, there were no significant differences in adolescents’ stress by age according to the ANOVA results. Thematic analysis results highlighted two main themes: learning-life unbalance and fear of failure. These themes are discussed in terms of possible risk factors concerning adolescents’ mental health. It is hoped this study to be of assistance in suggesting to offer stakeholders and parents the opportunity to explore areas of focus and improve adolescents’ mental health which can benefit in building the nation in which mentally healthy citizens are living.