High levels of anxiety and psychological well-being in college students: A dual factor model of mental health approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41
Author(s):  
Katherine Carver ◽  
Hajar Ismail ◽  
Christopher Reed ◽  
Justin Hayes ◽  
Haifa Alsaif ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Positive Rumination ◽  
High Life Satisfaction

Anxiety disorders are prevalent among college students and contribute to problems in social and academic functioning. The primary focus in the anxiety literature has been on symptoms and deficits in functioning rather than psychological well-being. The present study investigated the extent to which high levels of anxiety co-occurred with self-reported psychological well-being using a dual-factor model of mental health approach. Participants (n = 100) were categorized into two groups (high anxiety crossed with low and high life satisfaction), and groups were compared on several psychological well-being indicators. Supporting a dual-factor approach, students reporting high levels of anxiety and life satisfaction reported higher levels of hope, grit, gratitude, self-focused positive rumination, and savoring of positive emotions than students reporting high levels of anxiety and low levels of life satisfaction. Groups did not differ in emotion-focused positive rumination or in dampening of positive emotion. These results highlight well-being heterogeneity within individuals reporting high levels of anxiety, with implications for treatment and prevention efforts.

scholarly journals Subjective Well-being, Mental Health and Concerns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From the Global South

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Lina Martínez ◽  
Valeria Trofimoff ◽  
Isabella Valencia
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global South ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Study Results

COVID-19 pandemic is harming many social and economic spheres beyond physical health. The subjective well-being of the population (positive emotions and life satisfaction) and the prevalence of stressors affecting good mental health like worry, depression, and anxiety are increasing worldwide. This analysis presents evidence of subjective well-being and mental health in Colombia, South America, during the current crisis. The data for this analysis comes from an online survey released after one month of quarantine. In total, 941 adults participated in the study. Results show that women are more affected by their well-being and experience more often worry, depression, and anxiety than males. In particular, younger women and from the lower socioeconomic strata. Respondents identify three primary concerns because of the pandemic: i) financial consequences, ii) health (personal and loved one's health), and iii) productivity. Respondents are, on average, more concerned for the health of loved ones than their health. 49% of study participants report having an income reduction as a consequence of the pandemic, but women in all subgroups analyzed are more affected than males. In terms of productivity –working remotely-, educated people, and from 50+ age range, feels more productive working from home. Evidence from this analysis contributes to the broader research of the consequences of COVID-19 on the well-being of the population. Evidence comes from a country in the global South with high population ratings of subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction before the pandemic. 

scholarly journals Positive Thinking, School Adjustment and Psychological Well-being among Chinese College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-159
Author(s):  
Raymond C.F. Chui ◽  
Chi-K. Chan
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
School Adjustment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Thinking ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Chinese College Students ◽  
College Going

Background: Previous studies have found that traditional positive Chinese beliefs contribute to the maintenance of the quality of life. It is interesting to explore the functions of positive thinking on stress in the Chinese context in order to test whether positive thinking influences the psychological well-being of college students. Objective: This study aims to examine the associations between positive thinking, school adjustment, and the psychological well-being of Chinese college-going students. It investigates the moderating role of positive thinking in the effects of poor school adjustment on stress and well-being. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to 299 male and 396 female college students aged 17-28 years across eight universities of Hong Kong. Results: Results confirmed that school adjustment was negatively related to stress (β= -.194) and positively related to life satisfaction ( β = .074). It was also indirectly related to psychological distress via stress ( β = -.194; β = .620). Moreover, positive thinking was a moderator to the relationships between school adjustment and stress ( β = .011) and to the relationships between school adjustment and life satisfaction ( β = -.009). School adjustment was more related to stress at higher levels of positive thinking while it was more related to life satisfaction at lower levels of positive thinking. Conclusion: These results suggested that enhancing positive thinking is beneficial to Chinese college-going students’ psychological well-being. Therefore, student services at universities can consider organizing workshops to educate and promote the appropriate use of positive thinking for students to alleviate their stress and enhance their psychological well-being.

scholarly journals Life satisfaction in adolescents: relationship with parental style, peer attachment and emotional intelligence

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (53) ◽  
pp. 51-74
Author(s):  
Alba Guijarro Gallego ◽  
Antonia Martínez Pérez ◽  
Visitación Fernández Fernández ◽  
Mavi Alcántara-López ◽  
Maravillas Castro Sáez
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Peer Attachment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being

Introduction. Theory and research support the idea that subjective well-being (positive / negative affect and life satisfaction) is a substantial construct in understanding psychological well-being and mental health. The relevance of life satisfaction in variables affecting psychological well-being has been studied. Life satisfaction in adolescents and its association with sex, age, parental educational styles, peer attachment and emotional intelligence was researched. Groups were compared according to degree of life satisfaction and its relationship with these variables. Method. The sample was composed of 285 secondary school students (49.8% male), average age 15.09 years (12 to 19), and self-report measures of variables were applied to be analyzed: Satisfaction with Life Scale-Child (SWLS-C), Parental Educational Style of Adolescents, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) y Trait Meta-Mood-Scale-48 (TMMS-48). Results. Results showed a significant high level of satisfaction among adolescents. A significant higher score among boys compared to girls was confirmed, as in the younger compared to older. Correlations were statistically significant between life satisfaction and all dimensions from Parental Educational Style analyzed, except Behavioral Control; with Alienation and Confidence of Peer Attachment; and with Emotional Intelligence Clarity and Repair, as well as statistically significant differences among satisfaction groups in 12 of the 19 variables analyzed. Discussion and Conclusion. Promoting life satisfaction in adolescents is increasingly relevant, due to the role it may play in achieving good psychological adjustment, thus contributing to the promotion and prevention of mental health.

scholarly journals Media for Coping During COVID-19 Social Distancing: Stress, Anxiety, and Psychological Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison L. Eden ◽  
Benjamin K. Johnson ◽  
Leonard Reinecke ◽  
Sara M. Grady
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Social Distancing

In spring 2020, COVID-19 and the ensuing social distancing and stay-at-home orders instigated abrupt changes to employment and educational infrastructure, leading to uncertainty, concern, and stress among United States college students. The media consumption patterns of this and other social groups across the globe were affected, with early evidence suggesting viewers were seeking both pandemic-themed media and reassuring, familiar content. A general increase in media consumption, and increased consumption of specific types of content, may have been due to media use for coping strategies. This paper examines the relationship between the stress and anxiety of university students and their strategic use of media for coping during initial social distancing periods in March-April 2020 using data from a cross-sectional survey. We examine links between specific types of media use with psychological well-being concepts, and examine the moderating roles of traits (hope, optimism, and resilience) as buffers against negative relationships between stress and anxiety and psychological well-being. Our findings indicate that stress was linked to more hedonic and less eudaimonic media use, as well as more avoidant and escapist media-based coping. Anxiety, on the other hand, was linked to more media use in general, specifically more eudaimonic media use and a full range of media-based coping strategies. In turn, escapist media was linked to negative affect, while reframing media and eudaimonic media were linked to positive affect. Avoidant coping was tied to poorer mental health, and humor coping was tied to better mental health. Hedonic and need-satisfying media use were linked to more flourishing. Hope, optimism, and resilience were all predictive of media use, with the latter two traits moderating responses to stress and anxiety. The findings give a nuanced portrait of college students’ media use during a pandemic-induced shutdown, showing that media use is closely intertwined with well-being in both adaptive and maladaptive patterns.

scholarly journals A Novel Heart-Centered, Gratitude-Meditation Intervention to Increase Well-Being among Adolescents

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lunthita M. Duthely ◽  
Sandra G. Nunn ◽  
John T. Avella
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Satisfaction ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Experimental Group

Population studies paint a dismal picture of the mental health status of adolescents, in the US and worldwide. Positive psychology, which takes a preventative approach to keeping individuals in higher states of well-being, is being implemented increasingly among youth, with the goal of avoiding future mental health and psychological problems. In this study, a novel intervention, which fused the practice of meditation with gratitude visualizations, was tested among adolescents. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the extent to which the intervention affected life satisfaction, school satisfaction, and measured gratitude, among a culturally diverse cohort of adolescents. Instrumentation consisted of three positive psychology measures—theStudent Life Satisfaction Scale, theSchool Satisfaction Subscale, and theGratitude Questionnaire-Six-Item Form.Participants were randomly assigned either to the delayed-intervention, no-treatment control group or to the experimental group. The four-week intervention was manualized primarily from the heart-centered gratitude visualizations outlined in a happiness and positive emotions handbook,The Jewels of Happiness: Inspiration and Wisdom to Guide Your Life-Journey. The intervention significantly affected life satisfaction, school satisfaction, and gratitude of the experimental group, when compared to the control group. Medium to large effect sizes were detected using the ANCOVA statistical test.

scholarly journals Long-Run Effects of Lottery Wealth on Psychological Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 2703-2726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Lindqvist ◽  
Robert Östling ◽  
David Cesarini
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Important Mediator ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Overall Life Satisfaction

Abstract We surveyed a large sample of Swedish lottery players about their psychological well-being 5–22 years after a major lottery event and analysed the data following pre-registered procedures. Relative to matched controls, large-prize winners experience sustained increases in overall life satisfaction that persist for over a decade and show no evidence of dissipating over time. The estimated treatment effects on happiness and mental health are significantly smaller. Follow-up analyses of domain-specific aspects of life satisfaction implicate financial life satisfaction as an important mediator for the long-run increase in overall life satisfaction.

scholarly journals Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression, Anxiety, and Enhancement of Psychological Well-Being Among College Students: Systematic Review

10.2196/12869 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. e12869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily G Lattie ◽  
Elizabeth C Adkins ◽  
Nathan Winquist ◽  
Colleen Stiles-Shields ◽  
Q Eileen Wafford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Mental Health Interventions

scholarly journals Mental Resilience Enhances the Well-Being of Singaporean College Students Through Reducing Burnout

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Su Xin Chue ◽  
Hoi Shan Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Academic Burnout ◽  
Approach Coping ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Mental Resilience

Mental resilience is considered as an important factor that allows individuals to cope with stressors and setbacks, though its components may vary depending on cultural contexts. Study 1 (N = 107) validated and examined the factor structure of a widely-used resilience measure (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale; CD-RISC) in the Singaporean context, and subsequently used it to test if the longitudinal relationship between resilience and psychological distress among college students would be mediated by academic burnout (Study 2). CD-RISC was correlated with perceived stress, social support, mental health and academic burnout in the expected directions. A 5-factor model was uncovered, interpreted as Approach Coping, Self-belief, Effort, Internal/ Interpersonal Resources, and Spirituality. Results of Study 2 (N = 97) showed that all variables were significantly correlated over time, demonstrating temporal stability. Mediational analyses showed that resilience predicted lower levels of academic burnout, which in turn led to lower psychological distress approximately eight weeks later. The findings show that CD-RISC is a valid research tool in the Singaporean context, although the factors did not replicate those reported in previous studies. The findings also position resilience as a key candidate for promoting mental health among college students through interventions and programs.

Conceptualizing Youth Mental Health Through a Dual-Factor Model

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-39
Author(s):  
Shannon M. Suldo ◽  
Beth Doll
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional And Behavioral Problems ◽  
Complete Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Wellness

This chapter summarizes evidence for the dual-factor model of mental health in which youth psychopathology and well-being are related but distinct and the promotion of wellness is equally important as amelioration of emotional and behavioral problems. The dual-factor model identifies 2 groups described in traditional mental health frameworks: youth without psychopathology who report positive emotional well-being (complete mental health) and youth who experience both psychopathology and low emotional well-being (troubled). Additional groups identified in dual-factor models are youth who are languishing emotionally but evidence no psychopathology (vulnerable) and youth who experience psychopathology while also evidencing emotional wellness (symptomatic but content). The use of the dual-factor model in school mental health facilitates identification of students who are vulnerable or symptomatic but content and need supports to foster positive emotions or manage distressing symptoms of disorders, as well as those who are troubled and need high-intensity or individualized mental health services.

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