Religion and Perceived Stress among Undergraduates during Fall 2001 Final Examinations

Abstract

To examine the relationship of religion and perceived stress, 97 undergraduate college students responded to the Perceived Stress Scale, the Spiritual Well-being Scale, and the Intrinsic/Extrinsic–Revised scale during a period of extreme national stressors during Fall 2001, namely, the September 11th terrorist attacks, anthrax scare, and war in Afghanistan, in addition to the local stressor of pending final college examinations. Scores on the Perceived Stress Scale were negatively correlated to scores on Existential Well-being (–.66), Religious Well-being (–.43), and Intrinsic Religious Orientation (–.44). Age was unrelated to all variables. Both the quality (well-being) of students' religious experience and the orientation of that experience were related to their perception of stress.