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The objective of the present study was to evaluate academic stress, social support and their relationships with mental health and academic performance in university students. Three hundred and twenty one students from a technological university in Caracas, Venezuela, responded instruments on academic stress, social support and mental health during the most academically stressful period. The results indicate that favorable conditions of mental health were associated to more social support and less academic stress. In women, higher stress levels were associated to a lesser amount of social support from friends whereas in men stress was related to less social support coming from close people and general social support. Both displayed better performance when perceived higher levels of academic stress and the social support of the near people was moderate. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for academic life and mental health in university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored the possible relationship among stress, emotional sensitivity, coping and perceived health in cadets from the Navy Academy of Venezuela. Participants were 130 cadets (31 females and 99 males) evaluated on their level of stress, coping styles and emotional sensitivity, with the aim at determining the relationship between these variables and their perceived health. Results support previous findings regarding the positive association between stress and the deterioration of the perceived health in cadets. Likewise, significant relationships were found between negative egocentric sensitivity and the dimensions of stress, suggesting that people with this individual characteristic perceive more stressful situations and with more intensity. Finally, results indicate that those cadets who use less adaptive coping styles show a higher deterioration of their health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]