Stress and quality of life in international and domestic university students: cultural differences in the use of religious coping

Studying overseas entails a number of transitions and challenges, and the present study investigated the strategies international university students use to cope with stressors. Previous research suggests that international students may be more likely than domestic students to draw on religion/spirituality as a source of dealing with stress, but the direct links between stress, religious coping and quality of life are yet to be documented explicitly. A sample of 679 university students in New Zealand completed the quality of life scale WHOQOL-BREF with an additional WHOQOL module used to assess spiritual, religious, and personal beliefs (SRPB). The students also completed the Perceived Stress Scale and the Brief COPE inventory. Irrespective of stress levels encountered or whether participants were international or domestic students, Asian students were more likely to use religious coping strategies than European students. Unlike European students, Asian students’ use of religious coping was effective in improving psychological and social quality of life. The findings also provide support for the main effects hypothesis of religion/spirituality. The present study demonstrates that cultural factors play an important role in the manner in which individuals maintain mental health and quality of life.     

Ways of coping and religious commitment in Muslim adolescents

The aim of this study was to find out methods of coping used most frequently by Kurdish adolescents and to investigate the relationship of methods of coping with their level of religiosity and gender. A convenience sample of 171 secondary school students, self-identified as Muslims, took part in answering two sets of questionnaires: methods of coping and religious commitment. Means, standard deviations, t-test and Pearson Correlation Coefficients were used to analyse the data. Results of the study suggest that the method of coping used most frequently by the sample was spiritual connection while passivity and avoidance were the least used methods of coping. Religiosity was correlated with all other methods of coping except seeking social support and passivity. Girls used avoidance and passivity for coping more than boys did. Kurdish Muslim adolescents use various methods to cope with problems they face. Counsellors in secondary schools should pay more attention to maladaptive methods of coping particularly among girl adolescents.     

On the links between positive religious coping,satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms among a multinational sample of Muslims

This study tested the levels and consequences of positive religious coping among a multinational sample of Muslims. The sample consisted of 706 university students recruited in three Muslim countries: Israel/Palestine, Turkey and Malaysia. Participants' average age was 22.61, and 65% of them were females. This investigation applied a cross‐sectional comparative methodology. Measures used: demographics, positive religious coping, satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms. The findings indicated that (a) participants reported high levels of positive religious coping usage, and Malaysians scored significantly higher in this regard than both Palestinians and Turks; (b) positive religious coping correlated positively with satisfaction with life but was not linked to depressive symptoms and (c) the magnitude of correlation between positive and satisfaction with life was significantly higher among Malaysians than among both Palestinians and Turks. The findings suggest that to understand the implications of positive religious coping for the health and well‐being of Muslims, a detailed and nuanced analysis is needed.     

Religion/spirituality and quality of life of international tertiary students in New Zealand: an exploratory study

Previous research links religion/spirituality to beneficial health outcomes, but the majority of these studies used samples from populations with long-term illness or older people. The present study explored whether the links between religion/spirituality and quality of life can be observed in a sample of younger adults, and also whether religion/spirituality could function as a coping mechanism in international tertiary students who are often subjected to significant stressors related to acculturation and being away from their families. The sample consisted of 218 domestic and 164 international students at a New Zealand university who were given the quality of life inventory and the additional special module about spirituality/religion/personal beliefs, both developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with many member states. Religion/spirituality was significantly correlated with psychological quality of life in both groups, and social quality of life in international students. The results also show that religion/spirituality might function as a coping mechanism in international students in response to stressors of acculturation.     

The role of coping in the relationship between stressful life events and quality of life in persons with cancer

Objective: Stressful life events (SLEs) impact the quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients. This study investigated the mediation of the relationship between SLEs and QOL (Model 1: Emotional-EQOL and Model 2: Physical/Functional-PFQOL by three types of coping: Action/Planning, Support/Advise-Seeking, and Disengagement/Denial). Design and Main Measures: 662 persons with cancer completed a Stressful Life Events Checklist, the Brief COPE scale, the FACT Emotional, Physical, and Functional Scales, and the Physical Impact Scale of the Sickness Impact Profile. Results: SLEs were positively associated with Action/Planning (Model 1: B?=?0.195, 95% CI = [0.089, 0.304]; Model 2: B?=?0.192, 95% CI = [0.086, 0.289]) and Disengagement/Denial (Model 1: B?=?0.394, 95% CI = [0.281, 0.513]; Model 2: B = .392, 95% CI = [0.285, 0.508]) but not Support/Advice-Seeking; however, only Disengagement/Denial was related to Emotional-QOL (Model 1: B = ?0.659, 95% CI = [?0.848, ?0.498]) and Physical/Functional-QOL (Model 2: B = ?1.460, 95% CI = [?1.856, ?1.069]). Thus, only Disengagement/Denial mediated the relationship between SLEs and QOL. Conclusions: The results indicated that SLEs represent a class of events for which there may be only one dominant coping response, disengagement. SLEs may not be controllable or predictable and reduce capacity for active coping with serious illness. However, SLEs may be detected at any point in the cancer trajectory so that supportive services might be provided.     

Religiosity,happiness, health,and psychopathology in a probability sample of Muslim adolescents

The aim of the present study was to explore the religiosity associations with the self-rating scales of happiness, mental health, physical health, anxiety, and depression. A sample (N?=?6,339) of Muslim Kuwaiti adolescents was recruited. Their ages ranged from 15 to 18. They responded to four self-rating scales to assess religiosity, happiness, mental health, and physical health, as well as the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Boys had higher mean scores on happiness, mental health, and physical health than did girls, whereas girls had higher mean scores on religiosity, anxiety, and depression. All the correlations were significant in both sexes. They were positive between each of the self-rating scales of religiosity, happiness, mental health, and physical health, and negative between these four rating scales and both anxiety and depression. A high-loaded and bipolar factor was disclosed and labelled “Religiosity and well-being vs. psychopathology.” In the stepwise regression, the main predictor of religiosity was happiness in both sexes.     

The role of experiential avoidance in the relationship between faith maturity,religious coping,and psychological adjustment among Christian university students

In the current study, the authors investigated the relationship between faith maturity, religious coping, experiential avoidance (EA), and psychological maladjustment (depression, anxiety, and stress) among a sample of Christian college students (N?=?84). Findings revealed a strong positive correlation between faith maturity and positive religious coping, and weak negative correlations between faith maturity and negative religious coping and maladjustment. Moreover, a weak negative correlation emerged between positive religious coping and maladjustment, as well as a moderate positive correlation between negative religious coping and maladjustment. Finally, consistent with the proposed hypothesis, EA partially mediated the link between negative religious coping and psychological maladjustment, although EA played no mediating role with positive religious coping and maladjustment. Further studies are needed to replicate and generalise these preliminary findings.     

Use of student support services among university students: associations with problem-focused coping,experience of personal difficulty and psychological distress

ABSTRACT

Universities provide a range of problem-focused social support services to help students who are experiencing personal difficulties. The current study examines how the effectiveness of students' (N = 131) problem-coping style, experience of personal difficulty and psychological distress are associated with actual use of support services in the academic setting. Results indicate that students who experienced a personal difficulty and who had a more reflective problem-coping style were more likely to use student support services. In addition, students with less effective problem-focused coping styles (more reactive and suppressive, less reflective) reported greater psychological distress. The potential personal, psychological and academic benefits of the reflective problem-coping style are discussed.     

Physical activity and psychosomatic-related health problems as correlates of quality of life among university students

This study aimed to investigate the role of psychosomatic problems in the relationship between physical activity and healthrelated quality of life. Participants were a convenience sample of 703 students from a South African university (males = 38.8%, females = 61.2%, mean age = 19.6 years, SD = 1.26 years). The students completed measures of physical activity, psychosomatic-related health problems and quality of life-related. The hypothesised model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The empirical findings revealed that psychosomatic problems mediated the relationship between physical activity and quality of life. In fact, the mediation analyses showed a partial effect of physical activity on quality of life in that those students with less self-reported activity experienced several psychosomatic-related health problems.     

Perceived sources and levels of stress,general self-efficacy and coping strategies in clinical dental students

The aims of this study were to identify sources of stress among clinical students and to evaluate the students’ perceived levels of stress, general self-efficacy and effective coping strategies in a private dental school environment. The study group consisted of 130 undergraduate clinical dental students in a Turkish private dental school, during the academic year 2014–2015. The students were surveyed using modified version of the dental environment stress (DES) survey, the perceived stress scale, the general self-efficacy scale (G-SES) and the brief coping scale. Age, sex, year of study, history of psychiatric treatment and factors that affected the choice of dentistry were also recorded. Final year and female clinical dental students, who were found to be the most stressful students, had moderate to high perceived stress scores. Total and ‘Faculty and administration’ related DES scores increased with the year of study. Stressors related to ‘Workload’ and ‘Clinical training’ affected females more than males. G-SES scores were higher in male students and students, who had no history of psychiatric treatment. The most and the least common coping strategies were ‘Planning’ and ‘Substance abuse’, respectively. ‘Religion’ was found to be one of the main coping strategies. Stress factors affecting Turkish clinical dental students studying at private dental school differed from the previously reported stress factors affecting students studying at a governmental dental school. Advanced year and female students experienced more stress than the other students.     

Free will perceptions,religious coping,and other mental health outcomes in caregivers of individuals with dementia

Caring for a person with dementia often results in depression, anxiety, and reduced quality of life (QoL). Pinpointing beliefs and practices that reduce this distress is imperative. The current study tested the hypotheses that greater free will perceptions and religious coping would be associated with greater QoL and other mental health indicators in a sample of 107 dementia caregivers. The results of regression and content analyses supported the expectation that free will and religious coping would be associated with greater QoL. Relationships also emerged among free will perceptions, religious coping, anxiety, and depression. Clinical implications are discussed.     

The effect of religiosity on quality of life in Muslim patients with heart failure: a study in Qom,the religious capital of Iran

Due to the low quality of life (QoL) in patients with heart failure, many researchers attempted to find new ways to improve the QoL in these patients. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between QoL and religious attitudes of patients with heart failure. In this cross-sectional study, 130 male and female patients with heart failure were selected based on the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using 36-item short form Quality of Life and structured Religious Attitude Questionnaires. The average age of subjects was 59.50?±?12.29; also, 52.3% of them were female. A significant relationship was observed between patients’ QoL and their religious attitudes in mental (p?=?.03) and general health (p?=?.04) dimensions, but religious attitude had no significant correlation with physical health dimension (p?=?.66) and the total score of QoL (p?=?.30). At the end, it was concluded that religious beliefs can improve patients’ quality of life.     

Religiousness,religious coping methods,and cognitive test anxiety among African-American college students

This study explored the roles of religiousness and religious coping methods in predicting cognitive test anxiety. A convenience sample of 121 African-American students (97 females and 24 males) ranging in age from 18 to 39 (M_age?=?20.16), attending a historically Black university completed an online questionnaire assessing demographic information, religiousness, religious coping methods, and cognitive test anxiety. Results showed that negative religious coping methods were significant factors in predicting cognitive test anxiety. These relationships may be pertinent for understanding salient factors that influence cognitive test anxiety in African-American college students.     

Self-efficacy and its relationship with satisfaction with life and happiness among university students

This study set out to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and satisfaction with life and happiness among university students in South Africa. The sample comprised 334 students (female = 222, male = 112, black = 96%, mean age = 23 years). The students completed a general self-efficacy scale, the satisfaction with life scale and the subjective happiness scale. Data were analysed utilising regression approaches to predict students’ satisfaction with life and happiness from self-efficacy. The results revealed higher self-efficacy scores to predict both higher satisfaction with life and happiness in both males and females. Self-efficacy seems to facilitate both satisfaction with life and happiness in general.     

Thinking styles predict religious belief among subgroupings of university students

This study explores how thinking styles relate to religious beliefs among subgroupings (by gender, university class level, and academic discipline) of university students in mainland China. The Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II (TSI-R2) and the Religious Belief Scale (RBS) were administered to 522 students. Results showed that, those with Type I styles (i.e. more creativity-generating, less structured, and cognitively more complex) tended to be less religious, while those with Type II styles (i.e. more norm-favouring, more structured, and cognitively more simplistic) scored higher on the RBS. The limitations, contributions, and implications of this research are discussed.     

Sources of life meaning among South African university students

This study explored the sources of meaning in life among a group of 243 South African university students, using a sequential exploratory mixed methods design. First, data from semi-structured questionnaires (n=40) were subjected to qualitative content analysis; next, from the emerging themes, a quantitative questionnaire was developed and administered to 203 students. Mean scores were computed and compared across gender and cultural groups. Relationships, especially with family, as well as hope, education, achievement and religion were found to be most important sources of meaning, followed by service, creative self-expression, material possessions, hobbies, health and pets. The qualitative analysis revealed that most of these sources were valued more for their perceived instrumental utility than for their intrinsic qualities.     

A one year study of coping,social support and quality of life in parkinson's disease

Abstract

The role of coping and social support in the quality of life for Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients is not well understood. Most studies are cross-sectional and concentrate on depression as an outcome measure. The aim of the present study was to explore the role of coping and social support in quality of life for patients with PD. Self-report measures were completed by 105 sufferers of PD; 75 completed the same questionnaire a year later. Patients had the most problems with social function, followed by problems with mobility control and psychological autonomy and communication. After controlling for age, gender and illness duration, the number of PD symptoms predicted mobility control, social functioning and psychological function. Passive coping explained additional variance in most functional domains with more passive coping being related to increased problems. The quality of life was highly stable over the course of the year. Active coping was related to superior psychological functioning one year later. In fact, this was the only coping and social support variable related to functioning after one year, when controlling for previous functions. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of symptom management in PD.     

Managing stress and managing illness: Survival and quality of life in chronic disease

Interest has been steadily building in the impact of stress on psychological and physiological functioning, in particular on immune system responses, furthering the concept of a strong connection between the mind and the body. Implications for prevention of disease onset or treatment of stress-induced illness or immunocompromised conditions have been explored through the implementation of stress management techniques. Cognitive behavioral stress management interventions, biofeedback, relaxation, guided imagery, hypnosis, individual and group psychotherapy, aerobic exercise, and guided self-efficacy treatment are briefly reviewed to identify possible treatment mechanisms that may affect immune function and promote quality of life. The application of behavioral techniques to reduce distress and sharpen coping skills has great promise in reducing the costs associated with chronic disease and in enhancing quality of life among those afflicted.Presented at the APA Presidential Miniconvention, To Your Health: Psychology Through the Life Span, Session VIII, Assuring a Healthy Lifestyle: Psychology Delivers. Chair: Diane J. Willis, Ph.D. The third author received partial funding through the Terry Fox Research Fellowship 5257, National Cancer Institute of Canada.     

An investigation of adult attachment and coping with exam-related stress

Students differ in how they cope with and manage stress associated with university life. This study investigates associations between adult attachment and coping strategies for exam-related stress. Fifty-seven students at a university in the north of England completed online questionnaires to assess attachment anxiety and avoidance, helpful and unhelpful coping strategies, and positive and negative affect. We found that students who were more avoidant in their attachment relationships were less likely to report using helpful problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies to cope with their exams. We also found that students who were more anxious in their attachment relationships reported using more dysfunctional coping strategies. We discuss the implications of the findings for university pastoral care and academic support systems.