Personality Traits and Stress Levels Among Filipino College Students: The Mediating Role of Peer Support
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20968548Keywords:
Collectivist Culture, Mediation, Peer Support, Personality Traits, Stress LevelsAbstract
Students in Philippine higher education experience multiple stressors shaped by academic demands, family expectations, and sociocultural values rooted in collectivism. Within this context, personality traits and peer support play important roles in influencing stress experiences. This study examined the relationship between personality traits and stress levels, with peer support as a mediating variable among Generation Z students. Using a quantitative descriptive-correlational design, data were gathered from 100 student.. Standardized instruments, including the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), were utilized to measure the key variables. Results indicated that students exhibited moderate levels of personality traits and stress, and high levels of peer support. Significant positive relationships were found between personality traits and stress levels, as well as between personality traits and peer support. However, no significant relationship was observed between peer support and stress levels. Mediation analysis further revealed that peer support did not significantly mediate the relationship between personality traits and stress. These findings suggest that personality traits have a direct influence on students’ stress experiences, while peer support, although present and strong, may not be sufficient to buffer stress effectively in this context. Implications support the development of targeted mental health interventions aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), emphasizing resilience, coping strategies, and holistic student support.
References
Alampay, L. P. (2014). Parenting in the Philippines. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 5, pp. 105–121). Psychology Press.
Alampay, L. P., Garcia, A. S., & Dizon, M. A. (2020). Emotional development and personality among Filipino adolescents. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 53(1), 1–15.
Balanay, J. A. G., & Roa, E. C. (2013). Assessment on students’ stress level and academic performance. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 3(7), 1–5.
Bernardo, A. B. I. (2008). Individual and social dimensions of Filipino students’ academic motivation. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 41(1), 1–20.
Bernardo, A. B. I., Salanga, M. G. C., & Khan, A. (2021). Academic stress and coping among Filipino students. Asia Pacific Education Review, 22(3), 345–356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-021-09689-4
Chemers, M. M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first-year college student performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.55
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385–396. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136404
Connor-Smith, J. K., & Flachsbart, C. (2007). Relations between personality and coping: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(6), 1080–1107. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.1080
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Cruz, J. P., & Torres, M. L. (2022). Peer relationships and emotional well-being among Filipino college students. Philippine Journal of Social Sciences, 27(2), 112–125.
Datu, J. A. D., & Mateo, N. J. (2022). Personality and social support as predictors of well-being among Filipino youth. Current Psychology, 41(5), 2890–2899. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00745-3
Datu, J. A. D., Valdez, J. P. M., & King, R. B. (2021). The role of personality traits in Filipino students’ coping and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 171, 110512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110512
Dy, M. D., & Andres, A. (2018). Stress factors among Filipino college students. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 38(3), 1–12.
Dy, M. V., & Andres, A. (2020). Stress and coping mechanisms among Filipino college students. Philippine Journal of Counseling Psychology, 22(1), 23–38.
Etikan, I., & Bala, K. (2017). Sampling and sampling methods. Biometrics & Biostatistics International Journal, 5(6), 00149. https://doi.org/10.15406/bbij.2017.05.00149
Fang, J., Ren, X., & Sotardi, V. A. (2025). Rethinking student wellbeing in higher education: A multifaceted approach to stress management. Education Sciences, 15(7), 872. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15070872
Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Garcia, R. L., & Estanislao, S. J. (2022). Social support and stress among Filipino university students. Philippine Social Science Journal, 5(2), 45–56.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
Malecki, C. K., & Demaray, M. K. (2006). Social support as a buffer in the relationship between stress and student adjustment. School Psychology Quarterly, 21(4), 375–395. https://doi.org/10.1521/scpq.2006.21.4.375
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2010). Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective. Guilford Press.
Poropat, A. E. (2009). A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135(2), 322–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014996
Punzalan, J. R. (2019). Peer support and coping among Filipino students. Philippine Social Science Journal, 2(1), 45–56.
Punzalan, J. R. (2021). Peer support and coping strategies among Filipino college students. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and Sciences, 8(2), 45–52.
Rammstedt, B., & John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(1), 203–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.02.001
Reyes, K. L., Santos, M. R., & Villanueva, P. (2023). Digital peer support and student well-being in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Education, 98(1), 67–80.
Robbins, S. B., Lauver, K., Le, H., Davis, D., Langley, R., & Carlstrom, A. (2004). Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? Psychological Bulletin, 130(2), 261–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.2.261
Santos, J. D., Cruz, R. A., & Lopez, M. E. (2021). Mental health support systems in Philippine higher education. Philippine Journal of Health Research, 25(1), 15–28.
Suldo, S. M., Shaffer, E. J., & Riley, K. N. (2008). The impact of social support on student adjustment. School Psychology Review, 37(4), 1–15.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson.
Wang, J., Wang, P., & Yang, Q. (2022). The relationship between personality traits, stress, and social support among students. BMC Psychiatry, 22, 445. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04045-y
Wentzel, K. R., & Watkins, D. E. (2002). Peer relationships and academic achievement. In A. Wigfield & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Development of achievement motivation (pp. 279–307). Academic Press.
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Research on Multidisciplinary Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
