Perceived stress as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and resilience among undergraduate students

Introduction/Objectives Religiosity is widely recognised as a protective factor in psychological well-being, yet the mechanisms linking religiosity to resilience remain insufficiently understood. Grounded in Resilience Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory, this study examined the mediating role of perceived stress in the relationship between religiosity and resilience among undergraduate students. Methods This cross-sectional explanatory correlational study involved 119 undergraduates (51.3% female; Meanage = 20.90, SD = 1.31) who completed the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSRFQ), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) online via Google Forms. Mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples and a 95% confidence interval. Results Bootstrapped analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of religiosity on resilience through perceived stress (b = 0.0177, 95% CI [0.0055, 0.0298]). Religiosity significantly predicted lower perceived stress (b = –0.233, p = .001), and perceived stress, in turn, significantly predicted lower resilience (b = –0.076, p < .001). The total association between religiosity and resilience was significant (b = 0.018, p = .018), whereas the direct association was no longer significant after accounting for perceived stress (b = 0.0002, p = .976), indicating a pattern consistent with statistical mediation in this cross-sectional sample. Conclusion These findings suggest that religiosity is associated with greater resilience, and this relationship appears to be accounted for by lower perceived stress in this cross-sectional sample. This study provides support for a theoretically integrated model linking religiosity, perceived stress, and resilience and highlights stress reduction as a key mechanism for strengthening resilience among undergraduate students.