Keywords

stress, social support, coping, college students, adjustment

Abstract

Stress is a widespread concept commonly associated with psychological and medical problems that may impair an individual's functioning and incur costs on society. Alarming rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and other stress-related problems have been found among college students. This study (N = 241)argues that reducing emotional and financial stress-related costs may be possible through increasing public and professional awareness of moderating variables, such as social support and coping resources. Results indicated that stress, inadequate social support, and escape-avoidance coping were related to higher levels of depression and lower life satisfaction in both males and females. Social support functioned as a moderator of stress in determining negative outcomes, primarily during high stress. Specifically, the interaction between stress and social support predicted depression in the combined sample, anxiety in males, and life satisfaction in females. In addition, the present study highlights the importance of accounting for gender in research concerning stress, social support, coping, and psychological adjustment. Finally, limitations and suggestions for future research will be discussed.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2005

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Bowers, Clint

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree Program

Psychology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0000882

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000882

Language

English

Release Date

January 2006

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Included in

Psychology Commons

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