The Importance of Self-Care for Students
Faculty Sponsor
Rachel Murray
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Social Work
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-29-2021
Abstract
Storm is a junior social work and psychology major from Griffith, Indiana. She suffers from heightened feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed during the academic year. She has identified that self-care activities may lessen the effects of stressors in her life. The purpose of this single-subject design is to identify and analyze the correlation between the frequency of self-care activities and levels of stress a person experiences. This study was structured as an A-B-A-C design where there was a phase of participating in one specific self-care activity for two weeks and then a phase of a different specific self-care activity for two weeks. The first self-care activity focused on improving physical health by following an exercise and nutritious diet routine. The second self-care activity centralized on expressing emotions verbally and through written work through journaling and attending therapy. These both served as the intervention for the treatment. The baseline was established in real time with four measures (two weeks) taken before beginning the treatment stage. Data was collected twice a week where the subject will report their stress levels on a scale of one to ten after participating in the self-care activity. The results of this study indicate a downward trajectory of stress levels associated with an increase in self-care activities. The research also suggests that both self-care activities produce positive results and promote an overall greater wellbeing.
Recommended Citation
Fleming, Storm, "The Importance of Self-Care for Students" (2021). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 936.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/936
