Superstitious Beliefs and Life Satisfaction among University Students: Role of Coping

Abstract

The present study focused to investigate superstitious beliefs and life satisfaction among university students: role of coping skills. Data was collected from 250 participants (age ranging from 18 years to 25 years) as computed from G*Power (122 males & 128 females). The objectives of the study were to investigate the relationship between superstitious beliefs, coping skills, and life satisfaction among university students, to investigate the mediating role of coping skills in superstitious beliefs and satisfaction with life, to predict coping skills and life satisfaction with superstitious beliefs among university students. It was hypothesized that there will be a positive relationship between superstitious beliefs and life satisfaction among university students, superstitious beliefs and coping skills will predict life satisfaction among university students, coping skills will mediate the relationship between superstitious beliefs and life satisfaction among university students and females will exhibit more superstitious beliefs as compared to males. Superstitious Belief Scale (SBS) (Fluke et al., 2014), for coping skills the Coping Scale, (Hamby et al., 2008), and for Life satisfaction, Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener & Veenhoven, 1984) was used. The results from this study indicated a negative significant relationship between superstitious beliefs and life satisfaction. Males exhibited higher superstitious belief on subscales (popular beliefs, belief in good luck, belief in bad luck, personal superstitious behavior, social superstitious behavior) as compared to females who scored higher on subscale (belief that luck can change). The study has important implications in the research areas related to positive psychology, cognitions, gender related studies and religion.