The daily hassles of first year students of the French ``grandes ecoles'': Relationships with perceived mental health and quality of life

Keeping in mind that gaining access to the first year of French ``grandes ecoles'' is a potential stressful situation, we have studied the daily hassles during the first six months of adaptation to ``grandes ecoles'' life. The results show that the most frequent and most intense hassles are related to success in their studies (exams), time management (lack of time to do what they want to do), interpersonal relationships (separation from a loved one) and health (sleep and wake-up). In addition, the higher the levels of students' hassles, the higher their emotional distress and the lower their quality of life. These results are discussed with reference to the literature on the subject. Objective. - This study aims to identify the daily hassles of students enrolled in the first year of the prestigious French ``grandes ecoles'' and to assess the relationship between these hassles and their perceived mental health and quality of life. Design. - Data were collected from 169 first-year students in these schools during the first semester of studies. Main outcome measures. - Daily hassles were evaluated using a specific scale for students. Mental health and quality of life were evaluated by using the GHQ-12 and the WHOQOL-26. Results. - The results show that the most frequent and most intense hassles are related to success in their studies (exams), time management (lack of time to do what they want to do), interpersonal relationships (separation from a loved one) and health (sleep and wake-up). In addition, the higher the levels of students' hassles, the higher their emotional distress and the lower their quality of life. These results are discussed with reference to the literature on the subject. Conclusion. - These results suggest that daily hassles were associated with a specific period of life and had a significant effect on the students' mental health. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.