COUNS-EDU The International Journal of Counseling and Education Vol. 7, No. 4, 2022 | p-ISSN: 2548-348X- e-ISSN: 2548-3498 http://journal.konselor.or.id/index.php/counsedu DOI: 10.23916/0020220740540 Received on 16/10/2022; Revised on 20/11/2022; Accepted on 25/11/2022; Published on 25/11/2022 138 Peer Counseling as A Coping Strategy for Academic Stress and Burnout in Final-Year Students Kushendar Kushendar*, Aprezo Pardodi Maba Institut Agama Islam Ma'arif NU (IAIMNU) Metro Lampung *) Corresponding author, e-mail: ushenefrans@gmail.com Abstract Academic stress, which impact on students, was caused by academic demand and competition. The article reveals and analysis counseling technique (peer counseling) in order to effort decrease academic stress and burnout for final-year students. The Research used Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design. Each group consist of 20 participants, with purposive sampling technique. Each participant was placed by random assignment. The MANOVA test results showed that peer counseling reduction academic stress (F (2.24) = 101.769; ηp2 = 0.85; p <0.01) and burnout (F (2.24) = 21.769; ηp2 = 0.55; p < 0.01). Moreover, the Wilcoxon test result indicated experimental group (peer counseling) decrease academic stress (Z = -2.82; p <0.05) and burnout (Z = -2.82: p <0.05). The control group showed increasing burnout (Z = -2.17; p <0.05) but academic stress showed there was not enhancement (Z = -0.34: p> 0.05). Peer counseling (based on stress management) as a strategy for overcoming academic stress and burnout among Metro City final-year students. Keywords: Peer Counseling, Final year Student, Academic Stress, Burnout How to Cite: Kushendar, K., & Maba, A. P. (2023). Peer Counseling as A Coping Strategy for Academic Stress and Burnout in Final-Year Students. COUNS-EDU: The International Journal of Counseling and Education, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.23916/0020220740540 This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ©2022 by author. Introduction The duty and responsibility of the student to complete the term paper or dissertation completion report. This is what accustoms the student to adapt to assignments when later entering the working world. The role of students as individuals who continue to learn and increase their potential through learning methods and individual and social skills (Salmon & Young, 2011). These duties and responsibilities are also a reasonable hope for students, parents, and the surrounding environment. This becomes a complex problem where students face lecture material that is increasingly difficult to adapt to the social climate to fulfill expectations for academic achievement (Fawns et al., 2019). If these duties and responsibilities are not carried out properly, then they contrary it will become a problem in the future. One indication of these problems is experiencing burnout (Morse et al., 2012) and academic stress (Reddy et al., 2018). Burnout is defined as psychological or psychological fatigue due to the demands of work or study and not being optimistic. It even tends to be pessimistic about the tasks that are owned because of the powerlessness of the potential (Dodek et al., 2016). In Education, it is called academic burnout (Backović et al., 2012). Tendency to skip classes is reluctant to do assignments, doesn't care about exam results, and doesn't care that he will be dismissed (Strayer, 2012). Studies say that the number of students being expelled from their campuses is proven by (Astuti & Nio, 2022) research. At the beginning of 2022, it was recorded that 140 students were entering the grace period of lectures and were threatened with dropping out of the undergraduate program at the University of Padang, indicating they were experiencing academic stress. Ministry of Research and Technology of the mailto:ushenefrans@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.23916/0020220740540 COUNS-EDU  The International Journal of Counseling and Education Vol. 7, No. 4, 2022 Peer Counseling as A Coping Strategy … | 139 Indonesian Counselor Association (IKI) | DOI: 10.23916/0020220740540 Republic of Indonesia in the 2018 Higher Education Statistics noted the percentage of drop-out students in 2018 was 3%. Of the approximately 6.95 million students recognized by the ministry, 239,498 students have dropped out (Wahyu Wulandari et al., 2022). This problem possibly causes campus academics to understand the importance of maintaining mental health by creating a campus environment that not only gives tasks and responsibilities but recognizes the importance of maintaining mental health. The issue of dropping out for students and these problems indicate students experiencing academic burnout and stress. Six factors influence whether or not burnout appears, namely workload, control, Relationship among student rewards among school engagement, academic self-efficacy, and academic burnout, community, value, and fairness (Zhou et al., 2022). In the context of lectures, the workload can be in the form of doing many lecture assignments, such as compiling papers, understanding journals, making presentations, and preparing for exams in a short time. Control, such as difficulty making decisions about lecture assignments due to the influence of more dominant friends, lecturers, or campus regulations. For rewards, for example, students need to get appreciation from lecturers, classmates, or parents for their academic achievements. For example, students need better relations with classmates or lecturers, making them uncomfortable carrying out their lectures. Value can be in the form of a discrepancy between the values students adhere to and the demands of lectures. Fairness can be seen when students feel mistreated by campus parties (Arlinkasari & Akmal, 2017). Education is an essential component for developing the potential and self-esteem of schoolchildren. Members of the school's educational system can meet some of the student's needs and determine their future quality of life. However, the educational process in schools is often stressful for students due to their inability to adapt (Rathakrishnan et al., 2021). In addition to student stress in the school environment, mental and physical disorders are on the rise (Lichtmann & Bodenmann, 2017). A stress that students often face is academic stress (Bedewy & Gabriel, 2015). School stress is a source of stress that occurs in the school environment (Schulte-Körne, 2016). Several factors burden students, such as too high academic requirements, bad exam results, task accumulation, and social environment. Academic stress falls under the category of distress (Zuhdi et al., 2019). Academic stress is when students cannot cope with the demands of school and perceive it as a distraction. Academic stress is caused by academic stressors (Science & Behavior, 2021). Academic stressors, d. H. Stress caused by the learning process., 2022). High school performance expectations from parents, teachers, and classmates create stress. These expectations often contradict students' abilities and create psychological pressures that undermine academic performance. Furthermore, according to (Gabryś- Barker & Gałajda, 2016), students appear to fear their teachers because complex subjects can cause academic stress. Students who are more resilient to stress achieve better learning outcomes. The pressures and demands that arise from schoolwork are known as academic stress. Academic stress includes the knowledge that needs to be acquired and the student's perception that there is insufficient time to develop it. Such situations often make young people an exclusive group. This phenomenon occurs due to the development of personal allegorical traits triggered by cognitive development during formal manipulation. Closeness, openness, and a sense of shared destiny with other adolescents can be opportunities for efforts to advance youth development. On the other hand, some of the psychological characteristics of adolescents (emotional, insecure) pose challenges to the effectiveness of peer counseling services. Based on the issues, phenomena, and above research findings in this field, the researcher proposed a peer counseling service model to reduce academic stress and academic burnout for final year students in Metro He Lampung, Indonesia. took the initiative to create Methods The experimental design of this study used a pre-test-post-test control group (before and after treatment) design that included two groups, an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group used peer counseling techniques as an intervention. The control group is in the form of a placebo group. Research topics were selected using a targeted sampling technique by selecting her 20 students from Maalif University, Lampung. In addition, a random assignment of the 10 people into experimental and COUNS-EDU  Vol. 7, No. 4, 2022 Available online: http://journal.konselor.or.id/index.php/counsedu Kushendar & Maba Peer Counseling as A Coping Strategy … | 140 Indonesian Counselor Association (IKI) | DOI: 10.23916/0020220740540 control groups is performed so that the groups are equal. The tool used in this study adjusted for two measures of academic stress and burnout, thus requiring a back-translation process. The academic stress scale uses the Manual Student Stress Inventory (SSI) developed by Mohammad Aziz Shah (2016). This tool consists of 40 high-confidence questions. So, the Cronbach alpha is 0.85. In the meantime, the saturation scale of the Maslach Burnout Instrument Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) was adopted. Maslach Burnout by Schauferi, Maslach, Reiter, and Jackson (2002) derived from Maslach's burnout theory was developed from his inventory (MBI). The scale consists of 15 items with 7 scale levels. So, it was very strong, based on previous research results of his Cronbach's alpha of 0.93 for the reliability of the MBISS instrument. Data analysis techniques in this study used the MANOVA test and his Wilcoxon test using the IMB SPSS 24 macroprocess software. The MANOVA test was used to determine the effect and degree of contribution of peer counseling on academic stress and burnout. In contrast, the Wilcoxon test is used to determine differences between experimental and control groups. Results and Discussion Results Wilcoxon test scores are used to study the relationship between academic stress and burnout. The results of the MANOVA test are derived from a between-subjects efficacy analysis test and used to determine how peer counseling contributes to reducing academic stress and burnout. Results of the MANOVA test showed that peer counseling reduced academic F (2.24) = 101.769; ηp2 = 0.85; p <0.01) and burnout (F (2.24) = 21.769; ηp2 = 0.55; p <0.01). Furthermore, the Wilcoxon test results showed that in the experimental group, there was an enhancement in academic stress (Z = -2.82; p <0.05) and burnout (Z = -2.82: p <0.05). The control group showed an enhancement in burnout (Z = -2.17; p <0.05), but academic stress showed there was no enhancement (Z = -0.34: p> 0.05). The results describe the effect of peer counseling on increasing pretest and posttest scores and reducing academic stress and burnout. Discussion Based on these findings, stress is a condition caused by a mismatch between desirable situations and an individual's biological, psychological, or social systems (Goswami et al., 2020) (Robins & Kashima, 2008) also define stress as the perception of a gap between environmental demands and an individual's ability to meet them. Stress is an individual's response to situations and events that cause stress (the stressor) that threatens and impairs the individual's ability to cope (coping) (Saleh Baqutayan, 2015). Based on some of the opinions above, stress is the pressure that arises due to a mismatch between undesired circumstances and expectations when there is a gap between environmental demands and an individual's ability to meet them, it can be concluded that it is considered potentially harmful. Stress is considered threatening, destructive, and uncontrollable. In other words, it is beyond the capacity of an individual to cope. In line with the above research, the stress in school and educational settings is commonly referred to as academic stress (Hakim et al., 2022). Academic stress is caused by academic stressors (CE et al., 2011). Academic stressors are stress experienced by students due to problems related to the learning process or learning activities, such as test anxiety or stress management. Consistent with the opinion above (Anju et al., 2021), they found that academic stress is a condition or situation in which there is a mismatch between Table 1. The Results of Multivariate Analysis Test of Variance (Manova) and Wilcoxon Variable Kelompok Pretes Postes Z P M SD M SD Academic Stress Experiment 15.80 1.033 20.00 0.843 -2.820 <0.05 control 15.40 0.843 15.50 0.527 -0.333 <0.05 F (2.24) 101.769* ῃ2P 0.850 Burnout Experiment 16.90 2.132 20.80 1.549 -2.818 <0.05 Control 16.20 1.814 17.10 1.449 -2.165 >0.05 F(2.24) 21.769 ῃ2P 0.549 COUNS-EDU  The International Journal of Counseling and Education Vol. 7, No. 4, 2022 Peer Counseling as A Coping Strategy … | 141 Indonesian Counselor Association (IKI) | DOI: 10.23916/0020220740540 environmental demands and the considerable resources of students. As such, they are increasingly burdened with various restrictions and demands, and academic stress stems from the pressure to demonstrate performance and excellence in an increasingly competitive academic environment. is also known (Chumacero et al., 2016). And the demands are becoming more and more burdensome. In addition, academic stress is related to educational factors such as (1) attending class, (2) completing many assignments, (3) achieving high test scores, and (4) student reactions to various requirements. And arise from the learning process.) making important decisions, (5) test anxiety, and (6) the need to manage study time. Students who cannot handle lecture problems efficiently will make them vulnerable to burnout. Burnout in academics or academic burnout is defined as feeling tired because of the demands of study (Salahshour & Esmaeili, 2021), having a cynical attitude towards lecture assignments, and feeling incompetent as a. States that burnout in individuals is related to the decline of interpersonal relationships and the development of negative behavior that can damage the individual concerned. Students who experience burnout will miss classes (absence), do not do well on assignments, and get bad test results, which in turn has the potential to be expelled from college (De Vibe et al., 2013). Academic problems that are not immediately resolved can potentially cause academic burnout in students. Six factors influence whether or not burnout appears, namely workload, control, the relationship between School Engagement, Academic Self-Efficacy and Academic Burnout in Students reward, community, value dan fairness (Zhou et al., 2022). In the context of lectures, the workload can be in the form of doing many lecture assignments, such as compiling papers, understanding journals, making presentations, and preparing for exams in a short time. Difficulty making decisions regarding his lecture assignments due to the influence of more dominant friends, lecturers, or campus regulations. For rewards, for example, students do not get appreciation from lecturers, classmates, or parents for their academic achievements. For example, students do not have good relations with classmates or lecturers, making them uncomfortable carrying out their lectures. Value can be in the form of a discrepancy between the values that students adhere to and the demands of lectures. Fairness can be seen when students feel mistreated by campus parties. Peer counseling strongly places communication skills to facilitate self-exploration and decision- making. Peer “counselors” are not professional counselors. Peer “counselors” are students who assist other students under the guidance of an expert counselor (Malchodi et al., 2003). In peer counseling, the role and presence of an expert counselor are still needed. In essence, peer counseling is counseling through peers because most adolescents (students and students) often discuss their problems with their peers compared to their parents, counselors, or teachers at school. Even for issues that are considered very serious, they talk about them with their peers (friends). Even if there are teenagers who finally tell their parents, counselors, or teachers about the serious problems they are experiencing, it is usually because they are forced to (discussions and efforts to solve problems with peers experience dead ends). This happens because adolescents have very strong interests and commitments, and bonds with peers (Chapman et al., 2010). The term ″peer counselor″ sometimes raises concerns for some people because they are worried about the connotation of a professional counselor (van der Meulen et al., 2021). That's why some people call ″peer counselor″ ″facilitator″ or ″junior counselor″ (Malchodi et al., 2003). Regardless of the various terms used, what matters is how students relate to one another and in what ways these relationships can be used to enhance their development. Peer counseling is important because most adolescents (students and students) often talk about their problems with their peers compared to their parents, counselors, or teachers at school. Even for issues that are considered very serious, they talk about them with their peers (friends). Even if there are teenagers who finally tell their parents, counselors, or teachers about the serious problems they are experiencing, it is usually because they are forced to (discussions and efforts to solve problems with peers experience dead ends). This happens because adolescents have powerful interests and commitments, and bonds with peers. Teenagers feel that adults cannot understand them and believe that only their peers can understand each other. Teenagers feel that adults cannot understand them and believe that only their peers can understand each other. Such circumstances often make adolescents an exclusive group. COUNS-EDU  Vol. 7, No. 4, 2022 Available online: http://journal.konselor.or.id/index.php/counsedu Kushendar & Maba Peer Counseling as A Coping Strategy … | 142 Indonesian Counselor Association (IKI) | DOI: 10.23916/0020220740540 Conclusion Based on the obtained research results, it can be concluded that peer counseling effectively reduces learning stress and burnout. Peer counseling still requires the role and presence of expert advisors. Peer counseling is essentially peer counseling, and most young people (students and pupils) often discuss their problems with peers as opposed to parents, counselors, or teachers at school. Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that counselors prioritize mental health (school stress and burnout). 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