optimism and emotional support: exploring positive and negative outcomes in students melina condren...
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Optimism and Emotional Support:Exploring Positive and Negative Outcomes in Students
Melina [email protected]
Student Stress•Students report stressors such as
coursework, isolation, worries about job prospects, etc.
•76% of students report feeling overwhelmed (American College Health Association, 2001).
•First-year students face a variety of additional stressors during the transition from high school to university.
Transactional Model of Stress(Lazarus & Folkman)
External Stressor
Primary Appraisal
Secondary Appraisal
Stress and Coping
Positive Resources
• Internal resources: optimism, psychological control, self-esteem.
•External resources: money, time, social support.
•Positive psychology (Seligman).▫Strengths rather than weaknesses▫Prevention rather than cure▫Positive rather than negative outcomes
Optimism
•Dispositional optimism is the generalized expectation of positive outcomes.
•Optimism can be learned.
•Unrealistic optimism can lead to negative mental and physical health outcomes.
Social Support
•Instrumental support ▫Tangible resources
•Informational support▫Identifying, understanding, and coping
with problems
•Emotional support▫Empathy, acceptance, caring, esteem
Optimism and Emotional Support•Optimism and emotional support appear
to be related.•Optimists may use support more
effectively.•Optimists report greater levels of support
than pessimists.▫Do they receive more support than
pessimists?▫Are they more optimistic about their
support networks?
My projects•Three projects examining student well-being.•68 first-year students.•Data collected at two time points: beginning
and end of fall semester.•Variables examined included optimism,
emotional support, vigor, depression, and proactive coping.
•Examined how optimism and emotional support act together to promote positive outcomes.
Vigor
•Vigor is characterized by a high degree activity, energy, mental resilience, stamina, and persistence when problems arise.
•Vigor is related to positive mental and physical health outcomes.
Vigor, Optimism and Emotional Support
•Emotional support is a mediator of optimism on vigor.
Emotional Support
Optimism Vigor
Depression
•High rates of depression are commonly found in undergraduate samples.
•22% students report having been unable to function because of depression (American College Health Association, 2001)
•Depression in students has been linked to cognitive symptoms, motivational symptoms, social problems, alcohol abuse, and increased suicide risk.
Depression, Optimism and Emotional Support
•Emotional support is a mediator of optimism on depression.
Emotional Support
Optimism Depression
Reactive vs. Proactive CopingReactive Coping Proactive Coping
• Takes place after a stressor
• Aims to compensate for loss
• Risk management
• Perceived threat
• Takes place before a stressor
• Aims to build resources
• Goal management
• Perceived challenge
Proactive Coping, Optimism and Emotional Support
•Optimism leads to increased emotional support, which in turn leads to increased proactive coping.
OptimismEmotional Support
Proactive Coping
Summary: Promoting Positive Outcomes•These studies suggest that optimism leads
to increased emotional support, which in turn leads to various positive outcomes.
•However, we cannot infer causality.
•Why might optimism lead to increased support?
•How can individuals develop these positive resources?