| Abstract: | Abstract— On the basis of laboratory research indicating that accessible altitudes ease decision making we hypothesized that freshmen who enter college knowing their likes and dislikes regarding academically relevant issues may experience better health in this new life setting To test this hypothesis, we conducted a prospective study in which students completed self-report inventories of negative life events and mental and physical health at two points in time. The accessibility of attitudes toward academically relevant issues was assessed in the initial session Regression analyses revealed three-way interactions between attitude accessibility, stress (as indexed by the number of negative life events), and initial health status when initial health, the generally positive relation between stress and illness was buffered by the possession of accessible attitudes For students with relatively poor initial health, recovery Has generally greater among those experiencing less stress, especially as attitude accessibility increased. |
