The Moderating Effect of Spirituality on the Relationship Between Academic Life Stressors and Perceived Stress in Medical Undergraduate Students

This present study set out to examine whether spirituality would positively or negatively moderated the links between stressors and perceived stress. A total of 263 college students at state and private religiously affiliated universities (UIN Syarif Hidayatullah and University of YARSI) were involved in this study. Three scales namely the perceived stress scale, spiritual well-being questionnaire and medical students stressors questionnaire were utilized to measure stress, spirituality and academic life stressors. Using hierarchy moderated regression analysis, the results revealed that spirituality significantly moderated the relationship between academic life stressors and stress (β=.010, sig=0.03<0.05). The result explained that spirituality enervated the adverse effect of stressors on stress. Since, the spirituality was proved as a useful self-buffer among undergraduates in maintaining psychological well-being throughout facing and dealing with academic life stressors. These findings had implications for promoting prevention programs to develop students’ coping skills by admitting greater emphasis on spirituality.