The influence of psychosocial factors, personality traits and religious support on students' self-esteem
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55573/JISED.118774Keywords:
Self-esteem, Psychosocial factors, Personality traits, Religious support, University students, UiTM Kota BharuAbstract
Self-esteem is an important psychological construct associated with students’ confidence, emotional well-being and capacity to cope with academic and personal demands. This study examined whether psychosocial factors, personality traits and religious support were associated with, and predicted, self-esteem among undergraduate students at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Kota Bharu. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed using a structured questionnaire administered to full-time undergraduate students. A total of 130 valid responses were obtained. The data were analysed using an independent-samples t-test, Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression. The results showed no statistically significant difference in self-esteem between male and female students (t = −0.980, p = 0.329). Psychosocial factors (r = 0.672, p < 0.001), personality traits (r = 0.668, p < 0.001) and religious support (r = 0.403, p < 0.001) were positively and significantly correlated with self-esteem. The overall regression model was statistically significant (F = 47.273, p < 0.001) and explained 53.0% of the variance in self-esteem (R² = 0.530). In the final stepwise model, psychosocial factors (B = 0.436, p < 0.001) and personality traits (B = 0.537, p < 0.001) remained significant predictors, whereas religious support did not make a unique significant contribution after the other predictors were controlled. The findings suggest that strengthening students’ social support and positive personality-related resources may be particularly relevant to programmes designed to enhance self-esteem in the university context.
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