The Relationship between Perceived Stress and Resilience among Undergraduate Students: A Correlational Study

The purpose of this quantitative correlational-associative study was to examine if, and to what extent, there was a statistically significant correlation between perceived stress and resilience among undergraduate students in the Southwestern United States. Two theoretical concepts formed the foundation of the study, and they included the transactional theory of stress and coping (TTSC) and the resilience theory. The perceived stress scale (PSS) and the predictive 6 - factor resilience scale (PR6) questionnaires were administered to undergraduate students online. Resilience was measured based on the six domains of the PR6, which are collaboration, composure, vision, tenacity, reasoning, and health. But for the purpose of this study, only three domains of the PR6 such as collaboration, vision, and composure were measured. Primary data for the study was collected through a convenience sample of 116 undergraduate students Facebook group members. Data and demographic information were collected using online survey tool through SurveyMonkey with validated instruments. The PSS and PR6 support for the hypothesis was found using the Spearman's Correlation to measure the strength and direction of the relationship between all variables of the study. Due to some changes, only research question one (RQ1) was answered in this study. Based on the relevant Spearman correlation between vision as measured by PR6 and perceived stress as measured by the PSS. The Spearman correlation displayed a significant negative correlation r[subscript s] (114) = -0.294, p = 0.001. This provided support to reject the null hypothesis. In other words, hypothesis 1 was supported. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]