Review Related Literature

Coping mechanism plays a significant part to overcome or reduce the stress

experienced by individuals. (Adler & Park 2003) stated that appropriate and effective
coping may buffer the effect of stressful circumstances on physical and mental health
of individual. Study indicated that university students are more stressful than those
individuals at any other stages of their life (Kumar & Bhukar, 2013). These stressful
students were also found to be more likely to be engaged in negative activities such as
binge drinking, eating junk foods and not exercising regularly (Ostwald & Riddock,
2007). Certain students find it difficult to cope with the stress that they experience and
tend to lag behind while some other students see it as a challenge for them to work
hard. Coping is seen as a stabilizing factor that may support an individual in
psychosocial adaptation during stressful situations (Bamuhair et al., 2015).And
Mechanism it is a process, technique, or system for achieving a result. It can also be
defined as fundamental processes involved in or responsible for an action, reaction, or
other natural ( Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2018). Using the correct coping style
effectively will help students in reducing their stress level (Yusoff, 2010).

According to the study of Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human

Behavior (2011). There are many coping styles that people use, and some may prove
to be more effective than others, depending on the nature of the stressful situation and
the person who is employing them. Ineffective coping mechanisms, also referred to as
maladaptive coping, may also be applied to stressful events or internal conflict, often
unconsciously. Maladaptive coping mechanisms are counterproductive. The research
showed there are positive and negative responses to coping (Howard & Medway,
2004).Communicating and seeking help from others along with problem-solving,
taking action and seeking support are positive ways adolescents deal with stressors.
Coping involves a control of engagement responses to change the source of stress or
one’s emotional reaction (Jaser et al., 2005). And included that coping is an effort to
manage specific external and internal demands of stress (Sontag and Graber 2010).

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 According to Psychology Today (2017), Panful Problem Solving is coping
through analysis and planning to resolve the situation . It describes deliberate
problem-focused efforts to alter the situation, coupled with an analytic approach to
solving the problem. An individual will identify the main cause of the problem,
clarify the desired outcome and brainstorm possible solutions to combat the problem,
rationally evaluate and seek information to solve the problems and choose the best
problem-solving alternatives. Such an individual is courageous enough to implement
the selected solution, reflect on whether the preferred solution has managed to solve
the problem effectively, and revise the plan if needed. Meanwhile, distancing is
where you detach yourself from the situation and try to minimize its significance
(Psychology today, 2017). It describes cognitive efforts to detach oneself and to
minimize the significance of the situation. Again, this strategy is only effective in the
short run, since it does not deal with the root of the problem. Some distancing
strategies include joking around and having a sense of humor, intellectual discussion,
socializing, and spending time with sweethearts. Hence, avoidant coping may initially
be perceived as an appropriate reaction to stress, but it is mostly utilized by
individuals who perceive stress as uncontrollable, and therefore, according to Kariv
and Heiman (2005), this technique is associated with poor adjustment to life. Self-
Control helps people to cope with new challenges and to gain a balanced life. It
describes efforts to regulate one's feelings and actions. It is a robust predictor of a
student’s level of academic success (Mansfield et al., 2004). A self-controlled person
is healthy emotionally and is generally better at handling stress because of the ability
to accept reality and because of the openness to criticism and comments. An
individual who is self-controlled has the belief that it is necessary to control one’s
emotions to become a healthier person, and so exercises restraint on his or her own
compulsive or addictive behavior. When feeling stressed, some may feel relief by
crying, or some may jot down their feelings in a diary.