Supporting a mentally healthy place of study: Examining the relationship between mental well‐being, stress, and protective factors among university students

Abstract

IntroductionStudents can expect to experience stressors associated with their studies that can have detrimental effects on their mental well‐being if not properly managed. Drawing on a positive psychology paradigm, protective factors can help students to counter study‐related stressors and contribute to their mental well‐being and academic success. The relationship between protective factors, such as maintaining perspective and building networks, with stress severity and positive mental well‐being was examined in a sample of Australian university students undertaking postgraduate coursework.MethodsStudents completed a survey measuring stress from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), positive mental well‐being from the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well‐being Scale (SWEMWBS), and seven protective factors from the Resilience at University (RAU) scale. Bivariate correlations were calculated for the RAU protective factors with stress and mental well‐being. ANOVA examined the RAU protective factors in relation to mental well‐being and stress severity groupings.ResultsAll seven protective factors had a positive and significant relationship with positive mental well‐being, and six of the seven protective factors had a negative and significant relationship with stress. A statistically significant difference was found for six of the seven RAU protective factors according to mental well‐being group, and three of the seven RAU protective factors group according to stress severity group. A linear effect emerged between level of protective factor and mental well‐being group, with participants in the high well‐being group having the highest level of protective factors.ConclusionUniversities should focus on the development of protective factors to support students' well‐being and help them to flourish in their studies.