Current study explored the effect of academic stress on students’ performance and the impact of
demographic variables like gender, age and educational level. A sample of one hundred and fifty students
was taken from different universities located in Islamabad. Seventy- five respondents were males and the
remaining seventy-five were females. The results showed significant effect of academic stress on student’s
performance. There was a non-significant difference between male and female university students on
scores on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). A significant difference between junior and senior students was
found on the PSS. Academic stress was found to be higher in younger students than older students. There
was a non-significant difference on PSS scores among students when stress was measured at the beginning
and at the end of the semester.
