Abstract. In the thesis process, many students are likely to experience stress or
feel pressured and burned out. Such stress affects an individual’s psychological
state, prompting an emotional eating tendency. This study is aimed at identifying
the relationship between stress and the tendency of emotional eating in senior uni
versity students who were currently writing their undergraduate thesis at Univer
sitas Mercu Buana Yogyakarta. The study hypothesized that a positive correlation
exists between stress and emotional eating tendency in senior year students during
thesis. Subjects comprised 100 students at Universitas Mercu Buana Yogyakarta.
Data was collected using stress and emotional eating scales that were initially
tested for reliability, and analyzed using nonparametric testing with Spearman’s
Rho. The data analysis generated a correlation value rxy = 0,798 (p < 0,01)
between stress and emotional eating tendency, indicating that a positive associ
ation exists between stress and emotional eating tendency, thus confirming the
hypothesis. Stress contributed to emotional eating at 63,7%, while the effective
contribution of 36,3% was accounted by other factors.