A study of the relationship between perceived social support, self-efficacy, and academic stress among undergraduate students in Malaysia

Lim, Amanda Xin Yi (2023) A study of the relationship between perceived social support, self-efficacy, and academic stress among undergraduate students in Malaysia. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

In recent years, academic stress among undergraduate students has gained scholarly attention in Malaysia. The research aimed to study the relationship between perceived social support, self-efficacy, and academic stress among undergraduate students in Malaysia. A quantitative cross-sectional study through a purposive sampling method was conducted across Malaysia. The survey questionnaires were distributed through various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, WeChat, Microsoft Teams, and Facebook. The current research reached out to a sample of respondents from universities across several states in Malaysia, including Sarawak, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Kedah. A total of 123 responses were aged between 18 through 26 years old (M = 22, SD = 1.55). There were more female respondents (n = 67, 54.47%) than male respondents (n = 56, 45.53%). Social Cognitive Theory was used as the theoretical framework in this study. Additionally, the instruments applied in this study are the Brief Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (PSS), Academic Self-efficacy Scale (ASE) and Perception of Academic Stress Scale (PAS). PPMC was used to test the hypotheses. The findings reported that academic stress indicated a significant negative relationship between self-efficacy and perceived social support while self-efficacy and perceived social support were significantly positively correlated. The results of this study would provide practical insight for students, parents, educators, and professionals to design effective interventions to reduce academic stress, and it could be further explored with different variables.

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