Author(s) :

Ava R. Nariman.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Chronic stress is a well-established driver of gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction, yet how socioeconomic status (SES) shapes stress-related GI outcomes during emerging adulthood remains poorly understood. The current study examined associations between perceived stress, urban life stress, and GI symptoms among undergraduate students, and explored whether these associations differed across socioeconomic status (SES) groups. In a cross-sectional online survey, undergraduate students (N = 45) completed measures of perceived stress, urban life stress, GI symptoms, and a multidimensional socioeconomic status index (SEI). SES was dichotomized at the SEI median into low- and high-SES groups. Independentsamples t-tests compared stress exposure between SES groups, Pearson correlations examined stress- GI associations, and linear regressions conducted separately within each SES group examined whether stress predicted GI symptom severity. Lower-SES students reported significantly higher urban life stress than higher-SES students, while perceived stress did not differ by SES. Greater urban life stress was associated with poorer GI symptoms, and this association was statistically significant among low-SES students, but not among high-SES students. These findings suggest that urban life stress is associated with greater GI symptom burden among lower-SES students, highlighting urban stressors as a potential focus for understanding socioeconomic health disparities during emerging adulthood. Given the crosssectional design and absence of a formal SES-stress interaction test, these results should be interpreted as descriptive group differences rather than evidence of statistical moderation or causal pathways.