PERCEIVED LEVELS OF STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES FOR UNFULFILLED PROFESSIONAL DREAM: AN ASSESSMENT ON PSYCHOMETRICIAN’S LICENSURE EXAMINATION

Abstract

Licensure examinations are required for a wide variety of professions in order to restrict the designation to those who are only eligible to work with a license. In contrast to the purpose of this study, which is to primarily focus on the other side of the coin, a significant number of studies on licensure exams have focused on the positive aspects, specifically the degree to which test-takers passed the exam. These studies assessed the perceived stress levels and coping mechanisms of individuals who had failed the board licensure examination for psychometricians. Assessing the perceived stress levels and coping mechanisms used by the psychometrician board non-passers following a failed effort to obtain a professional license was the goal of a correlational research design. Two (2) adopted standardized questionnaires, the PSS-10 and Brief-COPE, were utilized to measure the study's variables in order to address the underlying research issues. Of the 70 first-timers, only 61 agreed to take part in the study. The calculated sample size of 59 was adequately exceeded by the number of consenting respondents, indicating a representative sample of the population being studied. According to statistics, more than half (62% out of 87%) of the psychometrician board non-passers in Quezon City reported feeling moderately stressed after failing on boards. They also used problem-focused coping techniques (2.99), which demonstrated their ability to handle conflicts in a proactive manner. In summary, there is relatively little link between the coping mechanisms and perceived stress levels. This denotes a non-significant association, meaning that the variables of interest do not statistically significantly correlate with one another. A considerable percentage of psychometrician board non-passers in Quezon City reported experiencing moderate stress after their unsuccessful attempt to obtain a license to practice, in accordance with the evidence-based findings. Furthermore, the majority of psychometrician board non-passers have a constructive strategy—Problem-focused Coping—for dealing with their inability to pass boards. The study concludes that there is no significant relationship between coping mechanisms and perceived stress levels. As a result, the choice or efficacy of coping mechanisms is not significantly impacted by the perceived stress levels of psychometrician board non-passers.