General and specific stress mindsets: Links with college student health and academic performance

Cross-sectional and longitudinal influences of stress mindset on adolescent depressive symptoms and cannabis use

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

A stress-is-enhancing mindset refers to viewing the nature of stress as enhancing rather than debilitating and has been linked to better mental health in response to stressors. We examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal link between stress mindset and two mental health outcomes, depressive symptoms and cannabis use, over the COVID-19 pandemic in a diverse sample of adolescents.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A community sample of adolescents completed measures assessing depressive symptoms, cannabis use, and intentions to use cannabis at three time points (T1: 2018-2020, N = 299, T2: 2020, N = 219, T3: 2021, N = 173). Participants completed the stress mindset measure at T2.

RESULTS

Cross-sectionally, a more stress-is-enhancing mindset was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and reduced intentions to use cannabis, which in turn were associated with less cannabis use. Longitudinally, a more stress-is-enhancing mindset was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and indirectly associated with less future cannabis use through behavioral intentions to use cannabis.

CONCLUSION

This study establishes a stress-is-enhancing mindset as a protective factor against cannabis use and contributes to a growing literature that stress mindset is protective against depression, indicating that stress mindset may be an important protective factor even in the face of naturalistic, chronic stressors.

The association between a stress-is-enhancing mindset and internet gaming disorder was mediated by behavioral disengagement among medical undergraduate students: a multi-center survey in China

BACKGROUND

The stress-is-enhancing mindset has beneficial effects on physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. However, its association with internet gaming disorder (IGD) had not been investigated. By integrating stress mindset into the cognitive evaluation process of commonly used stress coping theories, this study examined the association between stress mindset and IGD and explored relevant mediation mechanisms via behavioral disengagement. The gender differences in the above associations and mediations were also explored.

METHODS

An online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical undergraduate students from seven cities (Baotou, Qiqihar, Harbin, Wenzhou, Guangxi, Dali, and Shantou) in China from December 2023 to February 2024. The final sample size was 8,552 (a mean response rate of 71.0%). The DSM-5 IGD Checklist, the Stress Mindset Measure-General, and the behavioral disengagement subscale of Brief-Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory were used to assess IGD, stress mindset, behavioral disengagement, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the significance and direction of the determinants of IGD. Path analysis was performed to examine the mediation mechanisms and the moderation effect of gender. All these analyses were adjusted for background factors.

RESULTS

Of all participants, the prevalence of IGD was 7.5%, and males had significantly higher prevalence than females (14.7% versus 7.4%, p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses found that the stress-is-enhancing mindset was negatively associated with IGD (ORa = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.92 ~ 0.97) while behavioral disengagement was positively associated with IGD (ORa = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.57 ~ 1.76). Path analysis found that behavioral disengagement fully mediated the association between stress mindset and IGD, i.e., the stress-is-enhancing mindset was negatively associated with behavioral disengagement, which in turn was positively associated with IGD. However, gender did not significantly moderate the associations between stress mindset and behavioral disengagement, between behavioral disengagement and IGD, and between stress mindset and IGD.

CONCLUSIONS

This study observed the relatively high prevalence of IGD among Chinese medical undergraduate students. It also revealed that the stress-is-enhancing mindset was potentially protective against IGD, and behavioral disengagement might fully explain such a beneficial effect. Future longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to verify and extend these findings.

Work demands and mental health: the mediating effects of resilience and sense of belonging among college students

Objective: This study investigates the relationship between work demands and mental health among college students and the mediating effects of resilience and sense of belonging. Participants: Data was collected from 3,082 undergraduate students at a mid-sized public University in the Northeast on work demands, resilience, sense of belonging, and number of poor mental health days. Methods: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data for students who reported at least one job (n = 2,083). Results: Higher work demands were positively associated with more poor mental health days. Resilience significantly and negatively mediated this relationship. In multiple-group SEM analyses, students working one job (vs multiple jobs) and those working a higher number of work hours (vs lower) exhibited a stronger negative indirect effect through the resilience mediating factor. Conclusions: Findings highlight the crucial role of resilience in managing work-related stress and suggest areas for further research to enhance student well-being.

Category-Specific Stress Mindsets: Beliefs about the Debilitating versus Enhancing Effects of Specific Types of Stressors among Young Adults

Recently, research has shown that stress mindsets, or the degree to which people believe that stress is enhancing versus debilitating, impact the ways they process and react to stress. However, young adults encounter various forms of stress, which might elicit different stress mindsets. This study investigated (1) how much young adults think about specific types of stressors as they complete stress mindset measures and (2) how stress mindsets vary across stressor types.

METHOD

Participants (n = 182) completed measures of general and category-specific stress mindsets (academic, interpersonal, identity-based, illness, societal, financial) and rated how much they thought of each category when completing the general mindset measure.

RESULTS

Academic stress was the most salient, and identity-based discrimination was the least salient as participants completed the stress mindset measure. Academic stress was perceived as the most stress-enhancing, and illness stressors were rated as the least stress-enhancing. Cisgender women reported stronger stress-is-debilitating mindsets for interpersonal and illness/injury-related stressors as compared with cisgender men.

CONCLUSION

Stress mindset ratings in research studies might be weighted toward certain types of stressors. Further, young adults' mindsets differ across different stressor categories. This nuance has implications for how we conceptualize stress mindset in interventions and research.

Protecting healthcare workers' mental health against COVID-19-related stress: The effects of stress mindset and psychological resilience

Healthcare workers have been on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19 disease. However, this has taken a toll on them, resulting in elevated stress and poor mental health. We argue that healthcare workers' stress mindset and resilience could mitigate negative outcomes of COVID-19-related stress by helping them view this stressful situation in a more positive light and appraise it as a challenge rather than a threat. Accordingly, we hypothesized that both a stress-is-enhancing mindset about COVID-19-related stress and resilience would improve healthcare workers' appraisal of their personal resources and increase their challenge appraisals, positively contributing to their mental health. We collected data from 160 healthcare workers and performed structural equation modeling for hypothesis testing. The results indicate that both a stress-is-enhancing mindset about COVID-19-related stress and psychological resilience are indirectly related to better mental well-being and lower health-related anxiety through challenge appraisals. This study contributes to research in mental health by suggesting that protecting and promoting healthcare workers' mental health is possible by empowering them through increasing personal resources such as a positive mindset about stressful situations and resilience.

Stressors and learned resourcefulness in baccalaureate nursing students: a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE

This correlational longitudinal study examined levels and relationships of Learned Resourcefulness (LR), stressors, and academic performance in baccalaureate nursing students at a North Carolina university.

METHOD

Gadzella's Student-life Stress Inventory (SSI) and Rosenbaum's Self-Control Scale (SCS) administered to 85 students in two groups upon admission and graduation.

RESULTS

LR increased, while stress decreased significantly in both groups (p < 0.05). Both groups (95.3% female, 85.8% Caucasian) reported similarly high frustration, pressure, and emotional reactions to stress. Significant relationship between taking tests and stress (p < 0.01). Stressors (p < 0.05) and age (p < 0.01) significant predictors of academic performance. Significant correlations of LR and work status (p < 0.01), and increased self-esteem (p < 0.05). No significant relationships among LR, stressors, and academic performance.

CONCLUSION

Results validate high levels of stress and suggest that higher LR enhances coping skills and decreases stress longitudinally, which can improve academic performance and retention.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE

Trends and relationships in stressors and LR should be explored internationally in larger, more diverse samples of college students in nursing and other majors in relation to depression, anxiety, health-related behaviors, demographics, and academic performance. LR can be assessed, taught, learned, and enhanced. Greater numbers of qualified, competent nursing graduates with stronger clinical judgment, coping, and problem-solving skills will address the critical global nursing shortage and improve the quality, safety, and access of health care worldwide.