ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND STRESS LEVEL AMONG FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF KULLIYYAH OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES IN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA KUANTAN CAMPUS

Abstract

Stress may affect students physically and psychologically. Furthermore, physical exercise can be used in managing stress. This research sought to identify the association between physical exercise and stress level among first year students of Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences (KAHS) in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan Campus. A total of 111 subjects consist of only first year students of Kulliyyah of Allied Health Science (KAHS) participated in this study. Physical exercise was assessed by basic exercise questionnaire, while for stress level was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire as the instrument. The data acquired were then analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. The findings indicated that 55.9% of participants perform the exercise while 44.1% of the participants do not perform regular exercise. As for the association between the physical exercise and stress level, there is a significant association found (p < 0.001). While for type, frequency and duration of exercise with the stress level also shown a significant association p-value less than 0.05. The study has provided evidence of an association between physical exercise and stress level among subjects. This finding is hoped to bring more awareness regarding the use of exercise as a mean to manage stress among university students.