Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between perceived social support and time management skills on stress among undergraduate students at Universiti Putra Malaysia. The study is descriptive, correlational, and employs regression analysis. The objectives of the study were to determine the highest types of perceived social support, time management skills, and stress, and to explore the relationships between these factors. The research involved 430 undergraduate students who participated voluntarily through a multi-stage random sampling method. The questionnaire included four sections: demographic information, perceived social support measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), time management skills assessed by the Time Management Questionnaire (TMQ) by Britton & Tesser (1991), and stress measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10).The study utilized both descriptive and inferential analyses, including Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize the demographic characteristics of the respondents and the distribution of perceived social support, time management skills, and stress levels. Inferential analysis through Pearson correlation showed significant relationships between social support and stress as well as between time management skills and stress. Regression analysis further revealed that social support, particularly from family, had a strong negative correlation with stress, while time management skills, especially short-range planning, significantly reduced stress. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening social support networks and enhancing time management skills to reduce stress among university students.