TITLE:
Examining Characteristics of Resilience among University Students: An International Study
AUTHORS:
Aileen M. Pidgeon, Natasha F. Rowe, Peta Stapleton, Heidi B. Magyar, Barbara C. Y. Lo
KEYWORDS:
Resilience, Psychological Distress, Perceived Social Support, Campus Connectedness, University Students
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.2 No.11,
November
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Attending university is a particularly
stressful time due to unique emergent stressors such as changes in environment,
loss or diminishment of social support networks, academic pressures, developing
peer relationships, and financial management. There is growing recognition that
these common stressors may have deleterious effects on the mental health of
students. Resilience, a personality characteristic that moderates the negative
effects of stress and promotes adaptation, has been associated with increased
psychological well-being. Despite a growing body of research on resilience and
its clinical significance in preventing mental health problems, relatively
little is known about contributing factors for resilience in well-adjusted
university students. This current study examined the characteristics of
university students reporting high and low resilience for elucidating its
clinical implications in preventing mental health problem, primarily focusing
on potentially modifiable psychosocial variables. An international sample of
214 university students recruited from Australia, the United States of America,
and Hong Kong universities completed measures of resilience, perceived social
support, campus connectedness, and psychological dis- tress. Results of a
one-way between groups multivariate analysis of variance revealed that perceived
social support, campus connectedness, and psychological distress accounted for
a significant proportion (36%) of the variance between the high and low
resilience groups of university students. University students with low levels
of resilience reported significantly lower levels of perceived social support,
campus connectedness, and higher levels of psychological distress, in
comparison to university students with high levels of resilience. Findings
offer important implications for the development of resilience-based
interventions among university students.