Azza Ali Taha^{1, 2,}, Etemad AA El-shereef^{2, 3}, Wedad Saeed Althobaiti⁴, Mai Muaiwedh Algethami⁴

Background. Alarming figures of stress have been reported in the university students in the last years. Many negative academic, emotional and health problems have been linked to stress in university students. Objectives. This study aimed to evaluate the level of perceived stress among female faculty students at Taif university and to identify the sources of stress as reported by the students themselves. Methods. A cross sectional study was used where 530 female students from Taif university participated in answering a questionnaire about perceived stress. Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) was used for assessing perceived stress level of the students. An open question about the five main causes of stress encountered by students during their university life was added to the questionnaire. Results. About 84% of female students at Taif university suffer from stress. Most of them had moderate degree of stress (75.5%). The average stress score of students was 19 ± 5.5 which was higher than the standard score used in assessing stress (M = 14.2; SD = 6.2). The stress mean score was significantly highest among medical students and students of illiterate mothers. Study condition was the most common source of stress reported by students especially the medical ones. Other factors contributing to stress were environmental and social factors. Conclusions. This study showed that most university female students at Taif suffered from moderate stress. Medical students were more vulnerable to stress than other students and the academic causes were the most common source of stress to them.

stress, university students, adolescent females