Anuraag Prasad Lama,
Muralidhar Girls’ College, University of Calcutta, Kolkata
Rita Basu,
University of Calcutta, Kolkata
Pages: 232-239
This study examined the relationship between academic stress and self-construal among
undergraduate students from two distinct cultural contexts—Kolkata and Gangtok.
Using a multistage sampling procedure, a total number of 318 undergraduate students
from Kolkata and 278 undergraduate students from Gangtok were taken and assessed
with the Singelis Self-Construal Scale (1994) and the Undergraduate Stress Scale
(Yumba, 2010), along with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (Goldberg & Williams,
1988) for screening. A 2×2 factorial design was applied, considering place of study
(Kolkata and Gangtok) and level of academic stress (high and low) as independent
variables, with independent and interdependent self-construal as dependent variables.
Two-way ANOVA results revealed significant main and interaction effects for independent
self-construal: students from Gangtok scored higher than those from Kolkata, and the
interaction between place and stress was significant, indicating that academic stress
influenced self-construal differently across locations. In contrast, interdependent selfconstrual
showed no significant differences by place, stress level, or their interaction.
Findings suggest that independent self-construal may be more sensitive to contextual
academic stressors and cultural environments, whereas interdependent self-construal
remains relatively stable across stress levels and cultural contexts. The results highlight
the importance of culturally informed interventions in higher education to support
students’ psychological well-being and adaptive self-perceptions