BEHAVIOR OF STRESS DURING WEEKS OF TEST AND UNDERGRADUATE THESIS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENDER?

The aim of the study was to investigate the behavior of stress during test weeks and course completion work (CCT) in college students and if there is a gender difference. Twenty-four university students, 12 men (age, 27 +/- 5 years) participated in the study. 12 women (age 26 +/- 6 years). The study was conducted for 3 weeks: 1st week (familiarization); Week 2 (tests) and Week 3 (CCT) we reused the mood state profile questionnaire (POMS) and the perceived stress scales (PSS) and scale of preparation and difficulty of the tests. No significant differences were found between men and women regarding the level of preparation for the tests (2.9 +/- 0.5 vs 3.2 +/- 0.6; P = 0.135), degree of difficulty of the tests (4.0 +/- 0.6 vs 4.1 +/- 0.3; P = 0.493) and grades (7.1 +/- 1.1 vs 6.8 +/- 1.2; P = 0.481), respectively. All other variables showed differences between moments for men and women (all P < 0.05), especially in the control week compared to the tests and CCT, except for the POMS depression and confusion variables. It was concluded that the week of tests and CCT influenced the level of stress, it is indicate that the phenomenon of stress can occur regardless of gender.