Influence Between Social Skills and Optimism on the Ability of Problem Focused Coping in Working Students

The rise in working students struggling to balance academic and job responsibilities often leads to increased stress, potentially resulting in problem-focused coping (PFC). This study explores how social skills and optimism impact PFC among students at the University of Muhammadiyah Sidoarjo who are employed. Utilizing a quantitative regression approach with a sample of 375 out of 12,730 students, the research employed accidental sampling for selection. Reliability scores for the instruments used were 0.891 for social skills, 0.919 for optimism, and 0.907 for PFC. Data analysis was conducted using multiple regression tests. Results revealed a positive relationship between optimism and PFC, with optimism being the stronger predictor (t = 4.256, p = 0.005). This indicates that higher optimism enhances problem-focused coping abilities. Therefore, the hypothesis that both optimism and social skills positively influence problem-focused coping is supported.