Developing Resilience: Experiencing and Managing Stress in a US Undergraduate Construction Program

Abstract

College students in the US are facing increased levels of stress as they progress through their undergraduate programs. Although these trends are of concern within higher education, they are not likely to change as students pursuing construction-related careers enter into industry. However, resilience and the processes associated with its development have proven useful for both academic success and professional development. In this study, the authors capitalize on undergraduate education as a prominent site for resilience development. In particular, the contexts in which students experienced stress and employed tactics for stress management at a large land-grant university in the US were explored. Upon qualitatively analyzing 20 semistructured interviews with undergraduate students enrolled in building construction and related majors, the authors identified three contexts in and five tactics by which students experienced and managed stress during their undergraduate careers. These findings may inform academic and career advising and support practices to better aim students toward resilience development and career success.