Family Communication Patterns And Stress Of Students Who Have To Continue Studies In University

Abstract

           As survey research, this thesis investigates the family communication patterns of selected students in schools under the supervision of the Department of General Education in the district of Mueang in the province of Nonthaburi. The researcher is concerned with the levels of stress induced in these high school students when facing university entrance examinations. Finally, the researcher compares the family communication patterns and the levels of stress the students under study experience in regard to university entrance examinations. Research has isolated four kinds of family communication patterns: 1) communication patterns evocative of high positive and high negative feelings; 2) high positive and low negative feelings; 3) low positive and high negative feelings; and 4) low positive and low negative feelings. These patterns form the framework for this investigation. The sample population was comprised of 535 high school students studying in the second semester of the academic year 2007 in schools under the supervision of the Department of General Education in Mueang district, Nonthaburi province. The research tools were a questionnaire regarding family communication patterns and a questionnaire concerning the stress of students in confronting university entrance examinations. Using techniques of descriptive statistics, the data were analyzed, formulated and tabulated in terms of percentage, mean and standard deviation. T-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were also employed for testing purposes. Findings are as follows: The majority of the sample population were females (66.5 percent) with a minority of males (33.5 percent). The majority of the respondents have two siblings (49.6 percent), are the first child (61.30 percent), have an average grade point ratio (GPR) of 2.91 with the standard deviation being 0.53. A plurality maintained a GRP between 3.00 and 4.00 (43.90 percent). A majority have parents who live together (74.80 percent). The educational level of a plurality of the parents is at the Matthayom Sueksa level (45.6 percent and 43.0 percent, respectively). Of the fathers, 28.60 percent are civil officials with 29.0 percent of the mothers having their own businesses. Family monthly income was between 10,000 and 20,000 baht for 35.3 percent of the respondents. At 66.4 percent, respondents had a high stress level in confronting university entrance examinations. Of the respondents, 20.2 percent experienced stress at the highest level.

           Respondents who overall differed in regard to the number of siblings, order of birth, parental educational level, parental occupation, parental martial status and family income exhibited no concomitant differences in the levels of stress regarding university entrance examination at the statistically significant level of 0.05. Female and male students under investigation overall exhibited differences in levels of stress regarding university entrance examination at the statistically significant level of 0.01. Female students experienced more stress than their male counterparts (the female mean was equal to 3.60 and the male mean was equal to 3.46). Respondents overall exhibited differences in their levels of stress regarding university entrance examinations in the aspect of average GPR at the statistically significant level of 0.01. At the highest level (40.4 percent), respondents experienced the high positive and low negative feelings pattern of family communication. The least common pattern experienced was the first pattern, namely, high positive and high negative feelings (14.8 percent). The third pattern, low positive and high negative feelings, was found to occur at the level of 26.9 percent. The fourth pattern, low positive and low negative feelings, was found to occur at the level of 17.9 percent.The four patterns of family communication resulted in differences in the stress levels of students in regard to university entrance examinations at a statistically significant level of 0.001. The only aspect in this connection which did not display differences at the statistically significant level of 0.05 was the aspect of selecting the area which would be studied upon attending university.