SUPPORT ME SENPAI!: EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT PROVISION ON EXAM STRESS IN SENIOR-JUNIOR DYADS

Abstract

Even for students in higher education, the all too familiar exam experience remains as a significant source of stress. If not managed properly, this stress can lead to health implications such as insomnia, depression, and suicide. However, as exam stress is the norm in universities, the management of such stress is also taken for granted. Consequently, it is imperative to explore solutions to counter exam stress. In this paper, I propose that receiving one-on-one peer support is a feasible method to relieve one’s exam stress. Specifically, using a longitudinal design, 80 university student dyads exchanged social support by sharing their academic frustrations with each other. To account for within-dyad differences, the dyads were further split into senior-junior distinguishable dyads. The results of this study demonstrated the presence of within-dyad differences (an asymmetric relationship); while the senior’s support significantly relieved the junior’s exam stress, the senior did not benefit from the junior’s support. Furthermore, both practical and emotional support were found to help relieve the junior’s exam stress. These findings suggest that apart from traditional methods of counselling and therapy, dyadic peer support can also be a useful tool in higher education settings to ease the exam stress of juniors.