Mindsets: Investigating resilience

Growth mindset, resilience, college student retention and engagement in preventative mental health activities: A focus on vulnerable groups

OBJECTIVE

 To determine whether learning about growth mindset toward mental health (GMMH) influences college students' retention, GMMH and resilience beliefs, and participation in activities associated with mental health (AMH).

PARTICIPANTS

 258 first-year students at a small, private liberal arts college.

METHODS

 A between-subjects design (students had or had not participated in a GMMH intervention) compared student retention, GMMH using Dwecks' Growth Mindset Scale, resilience via the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and participation in AMH.

RESULTS

 Learning about GMMH impacted retention (p = .026), particularly among first-generation students (p = .031). Learning about GMMH improved first-year students' engagement in AMH (p = . 045), particularly among non-White and International students (p = .015).

CONCLUSIONS

 Learning about GMMH positively impacts vulnerable students' retention and engagement in AMH, even when self-reported beliefs in GMMH and resilience are not impacted. Tracking behavior provides an informative way to measure the potential success of GMMH interventions.

Sex and Dominance Differences in the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Prosocial Behavior: The Roles of Meaning in Life and Resilience

The impact of childhood trauma on adolescents' development is a key topic in social science. Much of the existing literature focuses on its negative consequences, with limited study on its effects on positive social functions, particularly prosocial behavior. This study aims to uncover the link between childhood trauma and prosocial behavior among Chinese adolescents, focusing on how meaning in life and resilience mediate this relationship and how sex and social dominance goals moderate these effects. This study utilized random cluster sampling to survey 659 adolescents (mean age = 15.05, SD = 1.576, 53.6% female) in Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, China. Data on childhood trauma, meaning in life, resilience, and prosocial behavior were collected through self-reported measures. The data were analyzed through Process Macro Model 4 for mediation effects and Model 8 for moderated mediation in SPSS 26.0. Findings indicated that meaning in life (β = -.042, P < .001, SE = 0.015) and resilience (β = -.071, P < .001, SE = 0.018) partially mediate the impact of the main effect. Social dominance goals reduced the negative effects of trauma on prosocial behavior; higher levels lead to reduced impacts (β = -.173, P < .001, SE = 0.039, t = -4.448). Sex differences also moderated the effect of trauma on meaning in life, with females experiencing a greater decrease in the meaning of life after adversity (β = -.825, P < .001, SE = 0.112, t = -7.372). This research offers new insights into the mechanisms by which childhood trauma affects prosocial behavior and emphasizes the need to consider sex and social dominance goals in trauma interventions.

The role of implicit theories of intelligence and personality in older adults' resilience: cognitive functioning and social participation as two mediators

OBJECTIVES

Resilience during old age reflects the capacity to adapt to changes and challenges associated with normative aging and is an important component of successful aging. Belief in the incremental theory of intelligence and personality could help older adults maintain cognitive functioning and social engagement, which may further contribute to their resilience. The current study investigated how implicit theories of intelligence and personality affected older adults' resilience and examined cognitive functioning and social participation as two mediators.

METHOD

A total of 108 older adults aged 60-92 were recruited and completed relevant scales and cognitive tasks. Path analyses were conducted to estimate the expected mediation model.

RESULTS

The incremental theory of intelligence, but not personality, was positively related to older adults' resilience. Both cognitive functioning and social participation mediated the effect of the implicit theory of intelligence in the model without covariates. When background variables were controlled, the mediation effect of cognitive functioning remained significant, while the link between the implicit theory of intelligence and social participation was weakened.

CONCLUSION

Older adults' implicit theory of intelligence plays a significant role in fostering resilience in late adulthood, especially through maintaining older adults' cognitive functioning.

The challenges and experiences of academics supporting psychological capital among students at the emergence of COVID-19: A qualitative investigation of award-winning educators at a British university

BACKGROUND

Studies show that student mental health has continued to deteriorate over the years. Developing strengths-based approaches could aid educators in the development of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and positive protective factors in students to support their mental well-being and aid in their success; however, little is known of the subject experience of educators who attempt this.

AIMS

This study aims to understand the experience of award-winning educators; both in their attempts to cultivate positive protective factors in students and in challenges to the pursuit of that goal during the shifting academic landscape at the emergence of COVID-19.

SAMPLE

Six award-winning educators from a British university.

METHODS

Participants were interviewed over video calls in this research design using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

The results showed two major themes; pressures for academics and strength-based approached to cultivating PsyCap. These themes reflected that educators saw an urgent need for students to develop resilience as they struggle to handle subjective failure and that students struggle with imposter syndrome. The educators identified the challenges as feeling taken for granted, having unmanageable workloads along high expectations placed on them.

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 has added significantly to the workloads of educators and demonstrated students' need for resilience. This research identifies the experiences of educators trying to improve strengths-based practice while identifying the challenges of pursuing that goal in the changing pedagogy post-COVID-19.

The impact of implicit theories on resilience among Chinese nurses: The chain mediating effect of grit and meaning in life

Implicit theories refer to assumptions people hold about different domains, also known as mindsets. There are two implicit theories on the malleability of one's ability: entity theory and incremental theory. They constrain and regulate people's understanding and responses to an individual's behavior, leading to different social cognitive patterns and behavioral responses. Resilience is a positive adaptation in highly stressful situations that represents mechanisms for coping with and transcending difficult experiences, i.e., a person's ability to successfully adapt to change, resist the adverse effects of stressors, avoid significant dysfunction, and be chronically affected by considered a protective factor for mental health. Although previous studies showed that individuals' implicit theories are associated with resilience, this relationship has received little attention in the nursing population. It is unclear which variables may contribute to explaining the relationship between implicit theories and resilience. Therefore, the current study aims to deeply explore the relationship between implicit theories and the resilience of Chinese nurses. In addition, we also seek to demonstrate the chain mediating effects of grit and meaning in life on this relationship. We surveyed 709 Chinese nurses through online questionnaires using the self-made demographic questionnaire, the Implicit Theories Scale, the Short Grit Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. After controlling for demographic variables such as age, gender, educational background, marital status, professional title, and working years, the results reveal positive associations between Chinese nurses' implicit theories and their resilience, and grit and meaning in life play a partial mediating role in this relationship, respectively. Furthermore, grit and meaning in life play a chain mediating role between implicit theories and resilience. These findings contribute to understanding the psychological impact mechanism of implicit theories on nurses' resilience and provide a theoretical basis for nursing managers to formulate strategies to improve nurses' psychological resilience.

Damaged, discouraged and defeated? How mindset may offer hope for healing

Wolcott provides guidance on where we can start the healing process in healthcare by emphasizing an environment in which growth mindsets can flourish.