TITLE:
Psychosocial Moderators of Perceived Stress, Anxiety and Depression in University Students: An International Study
AUTHORS:
Aileen M. Pidgeon, Stephanie McGrath, Heidi B. Magya, Peta Stapleton, Barbara C. Y. Lo
KEYWORDS:
Perceived Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Psychosocial, Perceived Social Support, Campus Connectedness, Stress-Buffering Hypothesis, Moderating, Buffering
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.2 No.11,
November
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Extensive research shows university
students experience high levels of stress, which can lead to the development of
mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. Preliminary evidence
supports the role of psychosocial factors such as perceived social support
(PSS) and campus connectedness (CC) as protective factors in the development
of mental health problems in university students. However, research conducted
on the potential ameliorating effects of social support on stress applying
Cohen and Wills’ (1985) stress-buffering hypothesis produced weak,
inconsistent, and even contradictory results. In addition, little attention has
been given to examining the protective role of CC in the relationships
between perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. The cur- rent study examined
the applicability of CC and PSS in buffering the relationships been perceived
stress, anxiety, and depression across an international sample comprised of
university students (N = 206) from Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States.
The prediction that CC and PSS would moderate the relationships between
perceived stress, anxiety, and depression was partially sup- ported. The
results indicated CC moderated the relationship between perceived stress and depression but did not moderate the relationship between perceived stress and
anxiety. PSS did not moderate the relationship between perceived stress and
depression or the relationship between perceived stress and anxiety, thus
rejecting the stress-buffering hypothesis. These findings sug- gest less
emphasis should be placed on PSS as a protective factor, with universities
focusing on enhancing CC to reduce the high prevalence of mental health
problems to promote psychological wellbeing among students.