Social Work Student Self-Care and Academic Stress

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between self-care and academic stress in the hope that training social work students to practice self-care will start them on the right path to academic success and career longevity. The study surveyed 90 BASW and MSW students using the Academic Stress Scale. Students who practiced daily self-care had lower academic stress. In addition, with each year of progression through the program, students experienced minimally less academic stress. The type of self-care practiced was not a factor. Social work programs can be encouraged to teach self-care. Self-care theory and domains are also reviewed. More studies are needed to examine other factors that might reduce academic stress.