Coping resource availability and level of perceived stress as predictors of life satisfaction in a cohort of Turkish college students - Statistical Data Included

College Student Journal, March, 2002 by Carol Simons, Ferda Aysan, Dennis Thompson, Errol Hamarat, Don Steele

Next, a regression analysis was computed to examine the joint effects of coping resource effectiveness and perceived stress as predictors of satisfaction with life. As Table 3 shows, 41% of the variance in satisfaction with life was explained by the combination of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness. This regression analysis confirms the hypothesis that the combined effects of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness serve as a better predictor for life satisfaction (r=.64), than either coping resource effectiveness (r=.57) or perceived stress (r= -.61) considered separately.

We then wanted to know which subtests of the CRIS were contributing to the prediction of satisfaction with life. We also wanted to know which of the demographic variables were contributing to the overall prediction of satisfaction with life. Table 4 shows the correlation matrix of all variables used in this investigation which significantly correlated with satisfaction with life. Based upon the results of the correlation matrix, we entered into a stepwise regression analysis the 12 sub-scales of the CRIS, the PSS, and the only significant demographic variable, Perceived Economic Well Being (PEWB). Results of this stepwise regression indicate that the model that significantly predicts satisfaction with life includes the variables perceived stress, perceived economic well being, and two CRIS sub-scale variables: social support and stress monitoring. These results are shown in Table 5.

PSS accounts for 37% of the variance in this model. The increment of change of r square by the addition of PEWB = .13 (F=42.31, p < .01). Addition of social support creates the change in r square of .02 (F= 7.03, p < .05). And, adding the final significant variable, stress monitoring, results in a change of r square of .01 (F=4.0, p < .05). All other variables were excluded from the regression model.

Discussion

The present investigation examined the ability of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness to predict satisfaction with life. Joint effects of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness were found to be significant predictors for satisfaction with life (r=.64), and account for 41% of the variance in the sample. This finding underscores the importance of looking at both perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness when assessing satisfaction with life for college students.

When perceived economic well being and the CRIS sub-scales were added to the equation in a step-wise regression, perceived stress accounted for 37% of the explained variance in satisfaction with life. Furthermore, perceived economic well being contributed 13% to the variance in satisfaction with life, and that variable, along with the coping resources of social support and stress monitoring (contributing 2%and 1% respecting) were the only significant predictors of satisfaction with life.

The results of this study support the hypothesis that the combination of coping resource effectiveness and perceived stress is a better predictor of satisfaction with life than either variable is when considered separately. This finding, differs from that of Hamarat et al. (2001) in that, among young American adults, perceived stress proved to be the major predictor of satisfaction with life. In their study, however, coping resources was an important predictor of satisfaction with life for both middle-aged and older adult participants. This discrepancy on the role of coping resources in predicting life satisfaction for college students in the two cultures is puzzling. Recently, Aysan, Thompson, and Hamarat (in press) found that coping mechanisms undergo rapid development during late adolescence and early adulthood among Turkish students. It may be that this rapid development generates mature coping skills which become significant determinants of Turkish college students' well being, just as they are for middle-aged and older American adults. More research on this question will help clarify this issue. In regards to perceived stress, however, the findings of the current research, and of Hamarat et al.'s research, provide support to the research findings of Chang (1998) that, among college age young adults, perceived stress is significantly associated with lower levels of life satisfaction.