Conference Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII)
International Students Conference on Islamic Psychology (ISCIP)

Relationship Between Coping Strategies and Psychological Well-Being of Working Mothers in Managing Household Responsibilities: The Mediating Role of Work-Life Balance in Selangor, Malaysia

Date Published : 19 June 2026

Contributors

Adibah Dalila binti Mohd Ikhram

Undergraduate of Bachelor of Human Sciences in Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
Author

Shukran Abd Rahman

Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
Author

Keywords

Coping strategies psychological well-being working mothers work-life balance

Proceeding

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): The 5th International Student Conference on Islamic Psychology 2025

Track

General Track

License

Copyright (c) 2026 International Students Conference on Islamic Psychology (ISCIP)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between coping strategies and psychological well-being among working mothers in Selangor, Malaysia, and tests whether work-life balance mediates this relationship. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 103 employed mothers who completed standardised measures, which include the Brief COPE, Brief RCOPE, Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale, and the Work-Life Balance Scale. Descriptive statistics indicated moderate use of problem-focused (M = 27.5, SD = 5.0) and emotion-focused coping (M = 26.0, SD = 5.2), while avoidant coping and negative religious coping were less frequent. Correlation analysis showed significant positive associations between adaptive coping strategies which are problem-focused, emotion-focused, positive religious coping and psychological well-being (r = .32-.45, p < .01), while negative religious coping was negatively associated (r = -.18, p < .05). Work-life balance had a strong positive correlation with well-being (r = .60, p < .001). Mediation analyses using Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4) revealed that work-life balance did not significantly mediate the relationships between coping strategies and psychological well-being. All indirect effects were non-significant as their bootstrap confidence intervals included zero. However, direct effects emerged for avoidant coping (B = -0.88, p = .009), positive religious coping (B = 1.21, p < .001), and negative religious coping (B = -0.51, p = .004). These findings suggest that coping styles influence psychological well-being primarily through direct pathways, with work-life balance playing a strong independent role in maternal mental health. Interventions promoting adaptive coping and supportive workplace policies may enhance well-being in working mothers.

 

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binti Mohd Ikhram, A. D. ., & Abd Rahman , S. . (2026). Relationship Between Coping Strategies and Psychological Well-Being of Working Mothers in Managing Household Responsibilities: The Mediating Role of Work-Life Balance in Selangor, Malaysia. International Students Conference on Islamic Psychology (ISCIP), 2(1), 80-99. https://conference.uii.ac.id/iscip/paper/view/1060