The relationship between academic stress and xerostomia in 12th grade high school students in Medan, Sumatera Utara

Abstract

Several studies have shown that stress levels in high school students range from moderate to high. Theoretically, psychological conditions such as stress affect xerostomia complaints. This study aimed to determine the relationship between academic stress and xerostomia. This research was an analytic study with a cross-sectional design involving 68 subjects. The selection of subjects was using an accidental sampling method. Measurement of academic stress and xerostomia was carried out by interviewing subjects using the ESSA for academic stress and Fox questionnaires for xerostomia. The results showed that 13.2% of the subjects had xerostomia, and 86.8% of the subjects did not have xerostomia. More males experienced xerostomia (16.7%) than females (10.5%). 67.6% of subjects were at moderate stress levels and the rest were at severe stress levels. The stressor with the highest percentage was the self-expectation stressor at 60.3%. The results of the analysis regarding the relationship between academic stress and xerostomia using Chi- square showed significant results (p = 0.049). The stressor of pressure from study (p = 0.042) and the stressor of self-expectation (p = 0.023) had a significant relationship with xerostomia, while the other stressors did not show significant results (p> 0.05). The conclusion of this study shows that there is a relationship between academic stress and xerostomia in class 12th grade high school students in the Medan Kota sub-district.