Parent–child relationships and depressive symptom among Chinese college students: the mediating role of psychological needs satisfaction and the moderating role of mindfulness

Prior studies have revealed that positive parent–child relationships are negatively associated with college students’ depressive symptom. However, the underlying mechanisms of this relation whether specific mediators or moderators are at play are little known. Therefore, the current study examined the potential mediating role of psychological needs satisfaction and the moderating role of mindfulness in the link between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom among college students. A total of 900 college students from Shenzhen, China (53.40% male; M_age?=?19.82, SD?=?1.01, range from 17 to 27 years) completed questionnaires regarding parent–child relationships, psychological needs satisfaction, mindfulness, and depressive symptom. This study found that (1) parent–child relationships are negatively related to college students’ depressive symptom; (2) psychological needs satisfaction could be a potential mediator in the link between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom; and (3) mindfulness could moderate both the relation between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom as well as that between psychological needs satisfaction and depressive symptom, and those relations were weaker among college students with high levels of mindfulness than those with low levels of mindfulness. The current study highlights the mediating and moderating mechanisms that may underlie the correlation between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom, which may contribute to the development of more effective intervention and prevention programs for alleviating college students’ depressive symptom.

     

Acculturative stress and experiential avoidance: relations to depression,suicide, and anxiety symptoms among minority college students

Although college campuses represent strategic locations to address mental health disparity among minorities in the US, there has been strikingly little empirical work on risk processes for anxiety/depression among this population. The present investigation examined the interactive effects of acculturative stress and experiential avoidance in relation to anxiety and depressive symptoms among minority college students (n = 1,095; 78.1% female; M_age = 21.92, SD = 4.23; 15.1% African-American (non-Hispanic), 45.3% Hispanic, 32.5% Asian, and 7.1% other races/ethnicities. Results provided empirical evidence of an interaction between acculturative stress and experiential avoidance for suicidal, social anxiety, and anxious arousal symptoms among the studied sample. Inspection of the significant interactions revealed that acculturative stress was related to greater levels of suicidal symptoms, social anxiety, and anxious arousal among minority college students with higher, but not lower, levels of experiential avoidance. However, in contrast to prediction, there was no significant interaction for depressive symptoms. Together, these data provide novel empirical evidence for the clinically-relevant interplay between acculturative stress and experiential avoidance in regard to a relatively wide array of negative emotional states among minority college students.     

Under what conditions do U.S. and Taiwanese late adolescents feel victimized by their peers?

This study investigates whether cultural differences exist between the ways U.S. and Taiwanese college students perceive peer victimization using both an experimental vignette method and an open‐ended question format. A total of 1,125 college students (53% female) from the United States (n = 535) and Taiwan (n = 590) read and responded to vignettes which depicted peer interactions in the college context. The peer interactions varied along three factors expected to be associated with differentiating victimization from affiliative teasing: hostility, playfulness, and relationship closeness. Controlling for individual factors of sex, prior victimization, prior teasing, and emphasis on interpersonal harmony, students perceived more victimization when both hostility and a lack of playfulness were present. Culture interacted with the situational factors such that both hostility and lack of playfulness were stronger predictors of perceived victimization for Taiwanese than for U.S. college students. In open‐ended responses about sensitive topics, “Ability and academic performance” and “Self/thoughts/characters/habits” were more indicative of victimization for Taiwanese college students. “Health and disability” was more salient as indicative of victimization for U.S. college students. Findings from this study are among the first to evaluate signals of peer victimization with a cultural comparison; they can be used to inform victimization intervention programs or socioemotional curriculums in late adolescence to be culturally relevant.     

“I'm Having a Little Struggle With This,Can You Help Me Out?”: Examining Impacts and Processes of a Social Capital Intervention for First‐Generation College Students

Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on‐campus connections contributes to challenges first‐generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first‐generation college students to cultivate social capital and on‐campus connections during the transition to college. A mixed methods, explanatory design was used to evaluate impacts and processes of the intervention among first‐generation college students (n = 164) in the context of an ethnically diverse, urban, public university in the Northeast. Results indicated that students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved attitudes and behaviors around seeking support in college, closer relationships with instructors, and higher GPAs at the end of their first year in college. These results suggest the potential benefits of a relatively scalable approach to supporting the needs of first‐generation college students.     

A Comparative Study of Creative Thinking of American And Japanese College Students

Cross-cultural differences in creative thinking were assessed for 51 American and 54 Japanese college students. The American college students showed statistically significantly higher scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) figural test than the Japanese college students. No gender differences were found in either culture. Performance on the TTCT did not correlate with the performance on broad academic aptitude/achievement measures for either culture.     

Feeling Closer to the Future Self and Doing Better: Temporal Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Academic Performance

This research examined the function of future self‐continuity and its potential downstream consequences for academic performance through relations with other temporal psychological factors and self‐control. We also addressed the influence of cultural factors by testing whether these relations differed by college generation status. Undergraduate students enrolled at a large public university participated in two studies (Study 1: N = 119, M_age = 20.55, 56.4% women; Study 2: N = 403, M_age = 19.83, 58.3% women) in which they completed measures of temporal psychological factors and psychological resources. In Study 2, we also obtained academic records to link responses to academic performance. Future self‐continuity predicted subsequent academic performance and was related positively to future focus, negatively to present focus, and positively to self‐control. Additionally, the relation between future focus and self‐control was stronger for continuing‐generation college students than first‐generation college students. Future self‐continuity plays a pivotal role in academic contexts. Findings suggest that it may have positive downstream consequences on academic achievement by directing attention away from the present and toward the future, which promotes self‐control. Further, the strategy of focusing on the future may be effective in promoting self‐control only for certain cultural groups.     

Loneliness and Suicidal Ideation in Drug‐Using College Students

The college years are marked by social changes and behavioral experimentation which may increase risk of suicidal ideation. We propose a novel pathway for the development of suicidal thoughts between two established suicide risk factors, loneliness and drug use, which have not been examined in a nonclinical sample. Data were collected from 207 undergraduate drug‐using students at a large southeastern university. As hypothesized, suicidal ideation was positively correlated with both loneliness (r = .40) and drug use (r = .29). After controlling for several demographic variables, social desirability, and anxiety sensitivity, drug use was tested as a potential mediator in the loneliness–suicidal ideation link using a single‐mediator model. Results indicated a significant indirect (mediated) effect of loneliness on suicidal ideation via drug use (ab = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.02–0.18), suggesting that loneliness may contribute to suicidal ideation through increased drug use among college students. Identification of and intervention with students reporting loneliness and drug use may be a promising suicide prevention strategy on college campuses.     

Suicide Ideation,Alcohol Consumption,Motives, and Related Problems: Exploring the Association in College Students

Previous findings on the relationship between suicide ideation (SI) and alcohol misuse among college students are inconsistent, leading to conflicting clinical implications. We aimed to clarify this relationship in order to determine the utility of regarding alcohol misuse as a risk factor for SI in this population. Unselected college students (N = 545) completed an online survey including measures of alcohol consumption, problems, drinking motives, SI, and related variables. Our results suggest alcohol misuse is not a correlate of SI among college students; therefore, one should not assume that students who misuse alcohol are necessarily at increased risk for SI.     

Job choice and career relevance for today's college students

Previous research on college student employment has focused on differences among students based on year of college attendance but included relatively few participants over the age of 25. The current study investigated the relationship between job choice, job/career relevance, and job satisfaction for students under age 20 (n = 143), students ages 20–24 (n = 253), and students over age 25 (n = 141). Results revealed significant differences among age groups in reasons for job choice and reaffirmed the positive correlation that past research had found between job satisfaction and career relevance. Findings emphasized the importance of choosing employment for career‐oriented reasons rather than for reasons of convenience.     

Generational differences in American students’ reasons for going to college, 1971–2014: The rise of extrinsic motives

ABSTRACT

We examined generational differences in reasons for attending college among a nationally representative sample of college students (N = 8 million) entering college between 1971–2014. We validated the items on reasons for attending college against an established measure of extrinsic and intrinsic values among college students in 2014 (n = 189). Millennials (in college 2000s–2010s) and Generation X (1980s–1990s) valued extrinsic reasons for going to college (“to make more money”) more, and anti-extrinsic reasons (“to gain a general education and appreciation of ideas”) less than Boomers when they were the same age in the 1960s–1970s. Extrinsic reasons for going to college were higher in years with more income inequality, college enrollment, and extrinsic values. These results mirror previous research finding generational increases in extrinsic values begun by GenX and continued by Millennials, suggesting that more recent generations are more likely to favor extrinsic values in their decision-making.     

Students' perceived closeness to professors: The effects of school,professor gender,and student gender

The present study is a replication and expansion of F. J. Crosby and L. M. Reinardy's 1993 study, which found that female college students felt closer to female professors than to male professors. While the original study was conducted at a women's college, the present study includes students at a women's college, a coed college that was previously a women's college, a coed college that was previously a men's college, and a large university. Seventy-four percent of students were Caucasian, 7% Asian, 5.5% African American, 3% Latino/Latina, 0.5% Native American, 5.5% Mixed Race, and 4% Other. Feelings of closeness were examined as a function of institution, professor gender, and student gender. It was again found that students at the women's college felt closer to female professors than to male professors. This affinity for female professors held true for both male and female students at the other three institutions. Additionally, students at the previously women's college felt closer to their professors than did students at either the university or the previously men's college. The importance of female professors in higher education are considered.     

The earliest recollection: A new survey

High school (N= 150) and college (N= 164) students completed a survey of their earliest personal recollection (ER). These memories typically were of events occurring in the fourth year of life, and varied widely in terms of content and associated affect. The ERs of the high school sample were dated significantly later, contained more traumatic content, and were more likely to possess the qualities of a “screen memory” than were those of the college sample. Upon retest three months later, 58% of the high school students recalled the same ER as on the first trial. For those recalling a different ER, the second was rated as more pleasant than the first, and was less likely to contain traumatic content. In the college sample, those subjects whose ERs were of events occurring after the fourth birthday or which fit the definition of “screen” memories scored higher on the PRF Harmavoidance scale. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

The psychological benefit of future vividness in goal persistence: An illustrative case of the class of 2020 before & during COVID-19

Graduating during COVID-19, the Class of 2020 had difficulty pursuing their future goals. This research examined the likelihood of academic and career goal change early in the pandemic, disparities in persistence by socioeconomic status (SES), and how psychological resources mitigated goal change during the early stages of the pandemic. This 4-year study surveyed students in the Class of 2020 eight times from their first week in college (Fall 2016) to their last semester before graduation (Spring 2020; N = 115; 20% below middle SES, 80% middle SES or above). Even in the first weeks of COVID-19, a quarter of students changed goals. Lower SES students were less likely to persist in their post-graduation plans. Nevertheless, students who entered college with a vivid image of their future were more likely to have secured a graduate school or job prospect prior to COVID-19, and, in turn, were less likely to change goals.     

Where's the House Party? Hazardous Drinking Behaviors and Related Risk Factors

The authors examined differences in drinking behaviors and related risk factors across campus housing at a women's liberal arts college. Participants (N = 362) living in residence-style housing or house-style residences completed self-report questionnaires. Results showed that students in residence hall-style houses reported higher levels of hazardous alcohol use and perceived that their college, housemates or roommates, and close peers are more permissive of alcohol use than did students living in house-style residences. Findings highlight the role of the environmental structure of a college campus on students' perceptions of alcohol use and their drinking behaviors. The authors discuss implications for college housing and programming.     

Utility of the REDFLAGS Model for Supporting Community College Students’ Mental Health: Implications for Counselors

The counseling literature is lacking in research on supporting the mental health needs of the growing community college student population. A number of past investigators have demonstrated the utility of mental health literacy for supporting college students’ mental health on 4‐year universities. The present researchers examined the validity of the REDFLAGS model (a theoretical model for promoting mental health literacy) with a national stratified random sample (N = 640, stratified by age, gender, and ethnicity) of community college students. Collectively, the results of the confirmatory factor analysis, hierarchical logistic regression, and factorial analysis of variance supported the use of the model with community college students. Implications for enhancing counseling practice as well as directions for future research are provided.     

Basic need satisfaction in the parental relationship offsets millennials’ worries about the transition to college

ABSTRACT

Students’ worries about transitioning to college are correlated with long-term reduced psychological well-being, so we investigated how psychological need satisfaction might mitigate millennials’ worries about college. As parents can support or undermine their children’s basic needs, we also examined the influence of autonomy-supportive and helicopter parenting during the transition. Additionally, we compared these outcomes between first- and continuing-generation students. Incoming college students (N = 355) completed measures of parental relationship need satisfaction, parental involvement, worries about college, and family achievement guilt. Higher need satisfaction in the parental relationship was associated with reduced worries and feelings of achievement guilt for both first- and continuing-generation students. Autonomy-supportive parenting moderated the relationship between autonomy and millennials’ worries about college. Helicopter parenting did not moderate any of the relationships examined in this study but was positively associated with students’ transition worries and achievement guilt. We discuss these findings in the context of self-determination theory.     

MMPI–A Forensic Case Studies: Uses in Documented Court Decisions

The preliminary development of a personality test, the Zax Information Profile (ZIP), involving 24 content areas was described. Measures of internal consistency of the items in the separate sub-tests are reported as well-as the factor structure of the test with reference to several different S samples. Although internal consistency measures are not as high as were hoped for, they are consistent with similar measures done on somewhat similar test instruments. Furthermore, an external validation study demonstrated that the test differentiated very effectively between music students and arts college students in the predicted directions. The potential use of the test as a screening device for entering college students, and as an instrument for providing leads for constructing optimal housing arrangements and programs to prevent social maladjustment in college students was discussed.     

Gender in the college classroom: An assessment of the “chilly climate” for women

Previous research suggests that female students participate less often and less assertively than male students in college classrooms, and that teachers' discriminatory behaviors are partly responsible. Two in-class surveys of college students (N = 1375)—one at a university and one at a small college—assessed perceptions of student-teacher interaction. Factor analysis revealed a number of analytically distinct dimensions of classroom climate: what the class is like in general, what the class is like for the individual student, and what specific positive and negative teacher behaviors affect interaction. Class size affected each of these dimensions. Gender of student was significant only in the college survey, with males participating more, but this gender difference was not due to teachers' discrimination. Female teachers were more likely to create a participatory climate for all students. Creating a better classroom climate for female students creates a better learning environment for all students.We wish to thank Lawrence G. Rosenberg, Jean Dowdall, and Penelope J. Davis for their help and support during this research project. Mary Crawford was responsible for designing and carrying out the university survey, and Margo MacLeod for designing and carrying out the college survey.     

Ethnoracial comparisons in anxiety and depression outcomes among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander college students

We explored differences in distress scores at intake as well as the change in anxiety and depression scores over the course of 12 therapy sessions for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) college students. Data were collected from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (N = 256,242). Results support the notion that NHPI college students experience anxiety and depression in therapy differently from other ethnic groups with moderate-to-large magnitudes of effect.