COPING, RESILIENCE AND STRESS AMONG SINGLE MOTHERS IN TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA

This study aims to determine the coping strategies, resilience and stress among single mothers. The data was collected through surveys using three sets of questionnaires which were Perceived Stress Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and Coping Strategies Inventory. The research samples included 328 single mothers in the Kuala Nerus District of Terengganu, Malaysia where purposive sampling was applied. The result of this study shows that there is negative relationship between resilience and stress. The analysis also shows that there were three different coping strategies which were problem-centred behavior, avoidance behavior and social support behavior as a result of a positive significant relationship with stress. Problem-centred behavior, avoidance behavior and resilience are predictor factors for stress. Therefore, resilience and action among single mothers must be increased or improved to enable them to cope with stress. A few recommendations were proposed based on the findings of this study.