Pollard, Lawanda J. and Larry W. Bates. 2004. “Religion and Perceived Stress among Undergraduates during Fall 2001 Final Examinations.” Psychological Reports 95: 999-1007.
What is the relationship between religion and perceived stress? For Pollard and Bates, results from a battery of questionnaires suggest that those who find meaning in religion generally cope better with stressors; or at least, perceive themselves to cope better. The researchers administered surveys to 97 college students. 70% of the respondents were women, nearly half were affiliated with the Baptist Church, and over 85% were white. The questionnaires measured students according to three scales: a “Spiritual Well-being Scale” which concerns perception of one’s relationship to God and to others; an “Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revised Scale” which yields respondents’ orientations towards how religion meets their personal and social needs; and a “Perceived Stress Scale” which measures “how much respondents find their lives unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloading.” Authors administered the questionnaires during times of so-called extreme national stressors, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax scare, as well as the local stressor of impending final examinations.
