Association of Optimism and Perceived Stress among Young Adults

Abstract

Optimism is a part of positive psychology which leads to better adaptive and coping skills and reduced stress level in an individual. The aim of the present research was to study the association of optimism and perceived stress among young adults. The sample consisted of 170 young adults (79 males and 91 females) within the age range of 18 to 25 years. Purposive sampling technique was employed for collecting the data. The Perceived stress scale-10 (PSS; Cohen, Kamarack & Marmelstein, 1983) and Life Orientation Test- Revised (Scheir, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) was used for measuring perceived stress and optimism respectively. Correlation and t-test was found using IBM SPSS software. Findings suggested that optimism was negatively correlated with perceived stress. Females were found to score significantly higher on perceived stress levels than males. While the gender difference in optimism level was reported to be insignificant. Future research needs to be conducted on the relationship between gender and levels of optimism.