EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN PERCEIVED STRESS, EMOTIONAL REGULATION, AND SELF-EFFICACY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

In the current modern and extremely competitive educational environment, the stress experienced by students has become a compelling concern. Academic stress is highly prevalent among university students and it has a significant impact on the overall physical and mental health outcomes. Thus, the primary aim of the current investigation was to examine the relationship between perceived stress, emotional regulation, and self-efficacy among university students. A sample of 153 students aged 18 to 40 (M = 21.28, SD = 3.17, 101 females) completed self-reported scales measuring perceived stress, emotional regulation (i.e. cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), and self-efficacy. Correlation analyses suggested that students’ stress was negatively related to self-efficacy and cognitive reappraisal. Also, we found that stress was positively related to expressive suppression. Age was not significantly associated with students’ stress. Hierarchical regression analysis suggested that the final regression model (i.e., gender, self-efficacy, and emotion regulation strategies) explained 34.3% of students reported stress. The best predictor of students’ stress was self-efficacy. We discuss our findings considering their practical implications in tailoring interventions aimed to reduce students’ perceived stress

Keywords

• students
• perceived stress
• emotional regulation
• self-efficacy