Resilience Level and Coping Strategies of College Students in Liberal Arts Program at Kachin Theological College and Seminary, Myanmar

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between resilience and coping strategies among first-year students (N=141) enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts Program (CLAP) at Kachin Theological College and Seminary, Myanmar. Convenience sampling was used to select participants. The Adult Resilience Measure (ARM-R) and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) instruments were used to assess resilience and coping styles, respectively. Results indicate that the majority of students demonstrated moderate levels of personal resilience and relational resilience. Task-oriented coping emerged as the most commonly used strategy, followed by emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping. Statistical analysis identified a significant positive correlation between resilience (both personal and relational) and task-oriented coping. In contrast, no significant association was found between resilience and emotion- or avoidance-oriented coping. These findings suggest that students with higher resilience tend to engage in proactive problem-solving strategies, underscoring the need for further research on emotional and avoidance coping styles. Based on these findings, the study rejects the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between resilience and coping strategies. The results suggest that students with higher resilience tend to favor proactive problem-solving approaches. However, the lack of a clear association between resilience and emotion- or avoidance-oriented coping warrants further investigation. Future research should explore the specific emotion-oriented coping strategies students employ and how these strategies interact with different levels of resilience in the Myanmar context.