Abstract:

The feeling of anxiety, which is common in society and complicates one’s life, is a common problem among university students. This study examines the effects of university students’ perceived stress, meaning in life, and sense of coherence on their anxiety levels. In addition, this study investigates the serial mediating effects of meaning in life and sense of coherence. The study group consists of 651 university students. The Perceived Stress Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Sense of Coherence Scale, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory have been used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s product-moment correlation and bootstrap analyses. The results show perceived stress to positively predict anxiety, while meaning in life and sense of coherence negatively predict anxiety. Meaning in life also plays a partial mediating role in the effect of perceived stress on anxiety. The results also confirm a significant serial mediating effect. Perceived stress predicts anxiety through meaning in life and then through sense of coherence. The mediating role of sense of coherence is not significant. The findings were discussed along with findings from previous studies, and suggestions have been presented for future studies.

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