The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between religious commitment, spiritual well-being and psychological well-being in college students. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) and Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS) were administered. Also frequency of church attendance was assessed. Canonical Analysis was used to investigate the data from 425 participants to determine if there is relationship between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. A statistically significant relationship was found between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. The following describes the nature of the relationship. First, participants who experience existential well-being tend to be self-accepting and to a lesser extent have mastery of their environment and a purpose in life. Second, participants who experience existential well-being and to a lesser degree, religious well-being tend to accept themselves, have a purpose in life, possess mastery of their environment, positively relate to others, feel they are growing personally, and are autonomous. This study provided evidence of a relationship between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. Implications and limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for future research are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

There is a significant gap between the numbers of college students who experience a diagnosable psychological problem and those who seek psychological treatment for these problems. One explanation for this gap may be that many college students may be unaware of free mental health services available at the university counseling center on campus. Thus, use of these resources is not a viable option. These concerns were addressed in the current study via a posttest-only experimental design by creating a video in line with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1985; 1991) and assessing its effects on college students attitudes towards psychological help seeking (PHS), subjective norms associated with PHS, perceived behavioral control over PHS, and PHS intentions. Mixed support was found for the video’s impact on TPB variables in a PHS context. In addition, the utility of the TPB model for explaining PHS in college students was examined. Based on model fit statistics the TPB adequately explained PHS in college students, but only after modifications were made to the measurement model. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

College for many adults represents a time for increasing independence, autonomy, and self-exploration. Yet the college experience may also be a time when students discover the presence of a psychological disorder, or navigate how to grapple with an existing disorder in the new and unfamiliar environment of college. An increasing number of students with such disorders are enrolling and participating in higher education yet current literature is often insufficient to adequately guide and inform postsecondary institution personnel regarding this complex student population (Beamish, 2005). Therefore, this phenomenological study aimed to discover the lived experience of a small sample of students with psychological disorders at one public university in the Western United States. Participants' reports of identity processes and classroom learning experiences were investigated through the combined lens of ldentity Theory and the Seven Vectors of Student Development. Study findings suggest (1) there is a pervasive yet varying effect of stigma on participants' identity and impression management behaviors, (2) crises resolution pertaining to seeking help and forming relationships associates with identity development, (3) student-role prominence may influence help-· seeking behavior offering possible implications for student college persistence, (4) reconceptualizing psychological disorders may contribute to more positive self-concepts, (5) "sympathetic others" play a part in fostering a positive classroom emotional climate and relationship trust and building, and finally, (6) stigma (and concomitant inclinations to prove oneself) prompt participant classroom participation yet outward signs of professor and classmate discrimination stifle participant classroom participation.

The nightmare prevalence literature to date has largely focused on nightmare episode severity (i.e. frequency), with 8%-87% of individuals reporting these events in the past week to year. While this has helped to determine the prevalence of these events, focus on the episode severity alone is problematic because it means little is known about the actual prevalence of nightmare disorder. Moreover, focus on episode severity likely overestimates the actual prevalence of clinically significant nightmares while also obscuring clinically significant consequences of the disorder. Understanding the prevalence of nightmare disorder can help guide treatment planning and interventions. The present study recruited UNT undergraduates (N = 372; 351 analyzed) and managed all participant data using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of nightmare disorder, as stated in the DSM-5, to facilitate accurate characterization of the disorder. Additionally, as part of the secondary aim the influence of gender on nightmare disorder status and psychological wellbeing as measured by psychological and sleep outcome variables was examined. Finally, comparisons of individuals with DSM-5-defined nightmare disorder to those without the disorder were conducted on previously examined correlates (e.g., trauma symptoms, depression).

Educators long ago recognized that a variety of factors contribute to academic success. High school grades, college entrance scores, personal motivation, and self esteem are among the traditional indicators or factors commonly identified with academic success. As community colleges open the doors of higher education to ever expanding segments of the population, the need for knowledge of the myriad factors contributing to academic success increases. The purpose of this study was to address a portion of that need via the examination of stress appraisal and coping strategies among community college students. The framework for the research in this study follows a process-centered theory of stress and coping developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1985). Specifically, this study was an exploration of how stress and coping strategies change over time and what relationship that change may have to academic achievement. Data for the study was collected from Virginia community college students currently enrolled in math classes. Students in these classes completed three stress and coping instruments centered around the focal point of their first major math test. Course grades served as a measure of academic achievement for comparison to stress and coping scores. Comparisons were also made among the student variables of age, gender, and level of academic preparedness. / Ed. D.

This study was designed to investigate 1) the cultural factors involved with Mexican citizens' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and 2) Mexican citizens' explanatory models of mental distress. Questionnaire data from 110 Mexican college students indicate that those who report a higher tolerance for stigma report lower endorsement of both the construct of personalismo and the machismo. Respondents who reported more interpersonal openness also reported a lower endorsement of the machismo construct. Participants from a large city reported significantly more stigma tolerance than those from a small city. Regression analyses reveal machismo as a significant predictor of stigma tolerance. Qualitative data was collected to provide additional in-depth information. Study results could be used to provide culturally appropriate mental health services.

Many college students have reported struggling with mental health problems while dealing with challenging demands of college. The initial theoretical framework for this research was Pearlin's stress process model (SPM). Building on the SPM, the three additional mediating variables of perceived control, meaninglessness, and financial worries were added to create a composite model for the research. Mental health outcomes in the model were measured by a comprehensive range of factors, which included: psychological distress, suicide, substance abuse, and anger. Data were collected from a non-probability convenience sample of 463 undergraduate students attending a large state supported university in the southwestern region of the United States. Among the social status variables measured, being married, female, and white were significant predictors of poor mental health in the sampled college students. Poor self-image, feeling of meaninglessness, and worrying about current and future finances were significant mediating variables. Poor mental health could make individuals overwhelmed and discouraged. This is a formula for failure in college. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the correlates of mental health problems among college students. A greater understanding means that families and college administrations will have better ideas about how to intervene to reduce the stress of students and to focus the available and often limited resources to help young adults in their college experience.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the students' perception of the College Advisory Program and its relation to his personality patterns. A secondary purpose was to investigate the Faculty Advisors' perception of the College Advisory Program. An additional outgrowth of the study was an attempt to obtain descriptive data for improving or altering existing Advisory Programs.

“A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA by Coursework and Research in the field of Industrial/Organisational Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 15 March 2016.” / Student well-being has become an increasing concern for universities both locally and internationally, with an increased interest in the prevention of academic burnout and the promotion of academic engagement due to their respective negative and positive influence on students. Accordingly, the Job Demands-Resource (JD-R) model was developed as a theoretical framework, incorporating environmental characteristics that predict symptoms of engagement and burnout in individuals. A major criticism of the JD-R model is its lack of consideration for the impact of personal resources on individual well-being. Emanating from this concern, the current study used the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory to empirically investigate whether the personal resource of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) interacted within the health impairment and motivation processes of the JD-R model. More specifically, it examined whether PsyCap mediated the relationship between demands/resources and burnout/engagement within a South African university environment. Few studies have attempted to integrate personal resources into the JD-R model, and no known studies have applied this integration within a student-university context. This provides a unique and novel context for application, warranting further research. Research participants either accessed an online questionnaire via a web link made available to them on the university’s student portal, or a hard copy version of the questionnaire was distributed during lecture time. The questionnaire included a self-developed demographic questionnaire, an adapted version of the Student Stress Scale (Da Coste Leite & Israel, 2011), an adapted version of the Factors of Academic Facilitators Scale (Salanova, Schaufeli, Martinez, & Breso, 2010), the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Scale (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma, & Bakker, 2002), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student (Schaufeli, Salanova, et al., 2002), and the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007; Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007). The final sample (N=331) consisted of both full-time and part-time undergraduate students in their first, second or third year of study at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.” “Results of the current study demonstrated that PsyCap mediated the relationship between academic obstacles and academic engagement, as well as, the relationship between academic facilitators and academic engagement. It also demonstrated, however, that PsyCap was not significantly related to academic burnout, and therefore was not a mediator in the relationship between academic obstacles/facilitators and academic burnout. Furthermore, results indicated that direct, positive relationships between academic obstacles and academic burnout; academic facilitators and PsyCap; and PsyCap and academic engagement existed, while a direct, negative relationship between academic obstacles and PsyCap existed. These findings were supported with previous research and literature. In addition, the current study also produced some non-hypothesised, but not unexpected, findings. Firstly, academic burnout and engagement was found to be moderately and negatively related, and secondly, engagement appeared to mediate the relationship between PsyCap and academic burnout. Additionally, an indirect, positive and weak relationship was found to exist between academic obstacles and burnout, while an indirect, negative and weak relationship was found between academic facilitators and academic burnout”. In conclusion, the current findings provide support for JD-R and COR theoretical assumptions, as well as the significant role personal resources play in the JD-R model in predicting student well-being. / MT2017

published_or_final_version / Mental Health / Master / Master of Social Sciences