Superstitious Beliefs, Personality Traits, Perceived Stress in University Students

Abstract

This study evaluated the relationships between superstitious beliefs, personality traits, and perceived stress among university students in Lahore, Pakistan. A quantitative survey design was used to gather data from 305 undergraduate and master students. The sample had almost equal numbers of male and female participants. The survey included the Ten Item Personality Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Superstitious Belief Scale. Data analysis involved reliability tests, independent sample t-tests, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. All three scales showed acceptable to high internal consistency reliability. The independent t-test results showed that female students had significantly higher perceived stress scores than male students. Female students also scored higher on superstitious beliefs, though this difference was not statistically significant. Pearson correlation results showed that personality traits, perceived stress, and superstitious beliefs had significant positive associations with each other and with participant age. Hierarchical regression showed that demographic variables and personality traits explained 55% of the variance in superstitious beliefs. Conscientiousness and openness to experience were strong predictors of superstitious beliefs. The same predictors accounted for 49% of the variance in perceived stress scores. The findings suggest that personality traits significantly influence how university students experience stress and hold superstitious beliefs.