Les croyances rationnelles et irrationnelles en lien avec le niveau de stress des étudiants confrontés à l’idée d’un échec aux examens universitaires

Abstract

Les croyances irrationnelles engendrent des pensées dysfonctionnelles dans notre système de croyances pouvant entraîner des troubles affectifs. La présente étude s’est intéressée au rôle des croyances irrationnelles dans le stress éprouvé par les étudiants face à l’idée de passer un examen à l’université et d’échouer à ce dernier. Dans cette perspective, 300 étudiants dont 91 hommes et 209 femmes d’âge moyen de 22 ans (ET = 4,87) ont complété un questionnaire concernant le stress ainsi qu’un questionnaire relatif aux croyances rationnelles et irrationnelles. Les données ont été analysées à l’aide de corrélations de Bravais Pearson, de comparaisons de moyennes par un test de Student et des analyses de régressions pas à pas. Les résultats montrent un lien négatif entre les croyances rationnelles et le niveau de stress dispositionnel et situationnel et un lien positif entre les croyances irrationnelles et le niveau de stress pour ces deux mêmes domaines. Néanmoins, les croyances rationnelles prédisent le niveau de stress dispositionnel et situationnel uniquement lorsque c’est le seul prédicteur. Quand il est associé à d’autres variables, seules les croyances irrationnelles et le sexe sont des prédicteurs significatifs du stress dispositionnel et situationnel. Cependant le domaine cognitif dans cette étude du stress n’est lié d’aucune manière aux croyances. Par conséquent, cette étude a surtout souligné le lien entre la présence de croyances irrationnelles à l’idée de passer un examen et un niveau de stress élevé concernant l’idée d’échouer à ce dernier. Irrational beliefs can be defined as dysfunctional thoughts having been unintentionally introduced in our belief system during our childhood across through life experiences. As shown in previous studies, these beliefs can eventually cause affective disorders. Markus & Merkey [2] demonstrated the existence of a link between irrational beliefs and health concerns in a psychology student sample of 493. Szasz [3] explored irrational beliefs and depressogenic rumination as a factor for stress vulnerability. Previous research has also shown that stress plays an important role in student life (Anders and El-Ghorung [11] , [12] ); a main concern for students being exam performance [14] . The objective of this study is to explore the impact of rational and irrational beliefs regarding exam failure on the dispositional and situational stress. Three hundred undergraduate students in social sciences participated in this study. The sample consisted of 91 men and 209 women; mean age was 22 years (SD = 4.87). One hundred students from each of first, second and third years participated in the study. Data were collected using a scale of rational and irrational beliefs (Montgomery [21] ) and a stress scale (Boucher [20] ). An exploratory factor analysis with principal components using varimax rotation was conducted with the stress scale identifying a three-factor solution explaining 54% of the variance: dispositional, situational, and cognitive stress. Dispositional stress covered internal and personal aspects of stress like physical manifestations such as trembling, nervousness, and panicked feelings. Situational stress was related to environmental and interpersonal aspects, like family and peers. Cognitive stress was represented by concentration skills or distractibility. Data were analyzed using Statistica software version 7.0. Bravais Pearson correlations and mean comparisons with Student t and as well as hierarchical stepwise regressions were performed. Rational beliefs were negatively correlated with dispositional (r = –0.15, P = 0.008) and situational stress (r = –0.25, P < 0.001) while irrational beliefs correlate positively with the dispositional (r = 0.32, P < 0.001) and situational stress (r = 0.38, P < 0.01). Women had average scores of dispositional (t (298) = 4.42, P < 0.001) and situational stress (t (298) = 4.19, P < 0.001) higher than men. Students resuming their studies after a break were less exposed to situational stress than students without interruptions (t (298) = 1.97, P = 0.04). The stepwise hierarchical regression analysis showed that mostly gender and irrational beliefs predicted dispositional and situational stress. The results show that the presence of irrational beliefs related to the idea of failing an exam increases the risk of dispositional stress; i.e., internal aspects such as physical manifestations of stress, nervousness and feelings of panic. These beliefs also increase the risk of situational stress such as that related to external events and relationships with relatives. Girls are more at risk for both aspects of stress. Cognitive stress in this study was not related to any rational or irrational beliefs variables. Of particular interest are the stronger relationships between irrational beliefs and stress; rational beliefs were correlated inversely to stress but with a weaker relationship. This suggests that irrational beliefs are more predisposing to experiencing stress than rational beliefs might be a protective factor against stress. This last interpretation merits additional study as the relationship between experienced/perceived stress and rational/irrational beliefs has not been widely studies. Based on the four pillars of the Ellis theory these results can provide a basis for prevention and treatment for students facing difficulties with their exams.