Navigating Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Religious Coping in Promoting Flourishing Among Indonesian University Students

Authors

  • Aisyah Qonita Psychology, Psychology, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
  • Airin Yustikarini Saleh Psychology, Psychology, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47679/jopp.7412162025

Keywords:

Emerging Adulthood, Religious Coping, Subjective Well Being

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between positive and negative religious coping and flourishing, conceptualized through the PERMA model of subjective well-being, among Indonesian university students in emerging adulthood. Emerging adulthood (ages 18–25) is a developmental stage marked by identity exploration and emotional transitions, making religious coping a potential protective factor for psychological flourishing. A total of 278 participants completed online questionnaires assessing religious coping and well-being. Data were analyzed using Spearman’s rho and partial correlation controlling for age, gender, and education. Results showed a significant positive association between positive religious coping and well-being (ρ = .284, p < .001, 95% CI [0.16, 0.39]) and a weak negative association for negative religious coping (ρ = –.101, p = .033, 95% CI [–0.22, 0.02]). Effect sizes were small (R² = .08 and R² = .01), and post-hoc power analysis indicated adequate statistical power (1–β = .99). The strongest link was observed in the meaning dimension, underscoring spirituality’s central role in constructing purpose and acceptance. Although the effects were modest, the findings highlight that positive religious coping contributes to flourishing within Indonesia’s collectivist and religious culture, serving as a psychological resource that supports meaning-making and emotional well-being during the transition to adulthood.

Author Biographies

Aisyah Qonita, Psychology, Psychology, Universitas Indonesia

Aisyah Qonita holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology. This study is part of her undergraduate thesis, through which she developed an interest in psychological well-being in adulthood and community mental health. She is currently exploring these topics further in both academic and applied settings.

Airin Yustikarini Saleh, Psychology, Psychology, Universitas Indonesia

Airin Yustikarini Saleh, M.Psi., Psikolog is a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests include cognitive and emotional processes, teacher well-being, and psychological functioning in educational settings. She supervised the completion of this study.

References

Abu-Raiya, H., Pargament, K. I., Krause, N., & Ironson, G. (2015). Robust links between religious/spiritual struggles, psychological distress, and well-being in a national sample of American adults. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 85(6), 565–575. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000084

Aeni, S. N. (2022, March 4). Bonus demografi, dampak dan hambatannya. Katadata.id. https://katadata.co.id/intan/berita/6221cc4f7f291/bonus-demografi-dampak-dan-hambatannya

Ano, G. G., & Vasconcelles, E. B. (2005). Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress: A meta–analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(4), 461–480. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20049

Arif, I. S. (2016). Psikologi positif: Pendekatan saintifik menuju kebahagiaan. PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469

Arnett, J. J. (2013). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: A cultural approach (5th ed.). Pearson.

Badan Pusat Statistik. (2023). Statistik Indonesia 2023 [No. Katalog 1101001; Publication No. 03200.2303]. Badan Pusat Statistik. https://www.bps.go.id/id/publication/2023/02/28/18018f9896f09f03580a614b/statistik-indonesia-2023.html

Butler, J., & Kern, M. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v6i3.526

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Cucchi, A., & Qoronfleh, M. W. (2025). Cultural perspective on religion, spirituality, and mental health. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1568861. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1568861

Dinah, N. F. A. (2020). Relationship between feeling of loneliness, religious coping, and life satisfaction on early adolescents who have working mother [Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Indonesia]. Universitas Indonesia Library Repository. (Restricted access).

Elfida, D., Milla, M., Mansoer, W., & Takwin, B. (2021). Adaptasi dan uji properti psikometrik The PERMA-Profiler pada orang Indonesia. Persona: Jurnal Psikologi Indonesia, 10(1), 81–103. https://doi.org/10.30996/persona.v10i1.4986

Elvina, N. (2021). The role of religious coping in moderating the relationship between stress and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) [Master’s thesis, Universitas Indonesia]. Universitas Indonesia Library Repository. (Restricted access).

Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146

Hebert, R., Zdaniuk, B., Schulz, R., & Scheier, M. (2009). Positive and negative religious coping and well-being in women with breast cancer. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12(6), 537–545. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2008.0250

Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2009). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues (7th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Koenig, H. G., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Religion and mental health: Evidence for an association. International Review of Psychiatry, 13(2), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540260124661

Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika Republik Indonesia. (2021, January 24). Angkatan kerja produktif melimpah. https://www.kominfo.go.id/content/detail/33004/angkatan-kerja-produktif-melimpah/0/artikel

Larasati, D. (2021). Peran religiusitas dalam menghadapi quarter life crisis [Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang].

Luhmann, M. (2017). The development of subjective well-being. In Personality development across the lifespan (pp. 197–212). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804674-6.00013-2

Nelson, L. J., & Padilla-Walker, L. M. (2013). Flourishing and floundering in emerging adult college students. Emerging Adulthood, 1(1), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696812470938

Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. Guilford Press.

Pargament, K. I., Smith, B. W., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. (1998). Patterns of positive and negative religious coping with major life stressors. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37(4), 710–724. https://doi.org/10.2307/1388152

Pargament, K. I., Tarakeshwar, N., Ellison, C. G., & Wulf, K. M. (2001). Religious coping among the religious: The relationships between religious coping and well-being in a national sample of Presbyterian clergy, elders, and members. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(3), 497–513. https://doi.org/10.1111/0021-8294.00065

Rossi, N. E., & Mebert, C. J. (2011). Does a quarterlife crisis exist? The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 172(2), 141–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2010.522897

Rulanggi, R., Fahera, J., & Novira, N. (2021). Faktor-faktor yang memengaruhi subjective well-being pada mahasiswa. Seminar Nasional Psikologi Universitas Negeri Malang, 406–412.

Seligman, M. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Atria Books.

Utami, C. T., & Helmi, A. F. (2023). Cultural values, spirituality, and resilience among Javanese Muslims facing adversity. Psychology and Developing Societies, 35(1), 45–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/09713336221128193

Downloads

Published

2025-11-14

How to Cite

Qonita, A., & Saleh, A. Y. (2025). Navigating Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Religious Coping in Promoting Flourishing Among Indonesian University Students. Journal of Psychological Perspective, 7(4), 317–324. https://doi.org/10.47679/jopp.7412162025

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Original Research Articles

Citation Check

License

Copyright Policy

Journal of Psychological Perspective (JOPP) is committed to promoting academic freedom and open access. To that end, we apply a copyright policy that empowers authors while ensuring the broad dissemination and responsible reuse of published work.

  • Authors retain the full copyright of their published manuscripts.
  • By publishing in JOPP, authors grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
  • This license permits others to:
    • Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format),
    • Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially),
    • As long as appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is provided, and derivative works are distributed under the same license.
  • Authors may:
    • Deposit and share the published version of their work in institutional repositories or personal websites.
    • Enter into separate, non-exclusive distribution agreements, provided that original publication in JOPP is properly cited.

Licensing and Copyright for Data Publication

To promote transparency, reproducibility, and ethical integrity in research, Journal of Psychological Perspective adopts the following policies regarding the publication of research data:

  • Copyright Ownership: Authors retain copyright over the datasets they submit or make available in connection with their articles.
  • Default License: All data associated with a published manuscript must be shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), unless otherwise agreed upon with the editor.
  • Permitted Use: This license allows others to use, modify, and distribute the dataset (including for commercial purposes), provided that attribution is given to the original authors and that derivative works are shared under the same terms.
  • Repository: Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit copies of their accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories or subject-specific archives. (e.g., OSF, Zenodo, Figshare) and include citations and links to the datasets in the article.
  • Ethical and Legal Responsibility: Authors must ensure:
    • The data shared do not breach confidentiality, privacy, or legal agreements.
    • Informed consent has been obtained where necessary.
    • Data have been properly anonymized where applicable.
  • Alternate Licenses: In exceptional cases, alternative data licenses (e.g., CC0, Open Data Commons) may be considered upon editorial approval. A written justification must be submitted and published alongside the article.
  • Corrections or Retractions: If issues related to published data arise (e.g., ethical breaches, significant errors), JOPP reserves the right to take corrective action in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines. Please read our policy about retraction of articles

Similar Articles

1 2 3 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.