Stressful Effects of a University Faculty Strike on Students: Implications for Coping

Abstract

This study examines university students' psychological reactions to a two-month faculty strike at a large Canadian university. Of particular interest were relationships between students' experience of angry feelings (state anger) about the strike and perceptions of the extent to which the strike had affected their plans involving important planned life experiences such as graduation, travel, and employment. The role of social support from the internet during the strike in alleviating the intensity of angry feelings was also investigated. Data were collected using an anonymous self-report questionnaire administered a few days after the labour dispute was settled. A total of 289 college students completed the questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted with variables entered as blocks and with state anger and anxiety as dependent variables. The first block of variables entered were individual variables such as age and year of study. The second block included average ratings of the extent to which plans were affected by the strike and how fairly students felt they had been treated. The third block of variables included social support from the internet and self-efficacy. The fourth block was the interaction between internet support and sex. With anger as the dependent variable, results showed that the more unfairly students felt they were treated during the strike and the more their plans had been affected by the strike, the greater their anger. Support provided to students from the internet predicted to lower anger. Further regression results indicated that the more students' plans had been affected by the strike, the greater their anxiety. Higher self-efficacy in students contributed to lower anxiety. Implications of the results are discussed within a social context, particularly the importance of studying how individual and social resources can reduce distress resulting from an interruption of students' academic plans due to a strike.