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<p>Compared with adolescence, emerging adulthood is associated with increases in mental well-being, which likely reflects developmental gains in autonomy as youth navigate new learning, occupational, and social environments. However, individuals with distress-prone personality traits such as higher levels of hopelessness (HOP) may be more at risk for psychological maladjustment, which can in turn affect their sense of well-being and ability to overcome challenges associated with the transition to post secondary education. The current study examines whether distress-prone personality traits (HOP and neuroticism) influence postsecondary students’ mental well-being and academic engagement through mediational links with a range of psychological distress indicators (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and COVID-19-related traumatic distress). The participants (<i>N</i> = 1507; 65.2% women) were first- and second-year undergraduate students aged 18 to 25 years (<i>M</i> = 19.17, <i>SD</i> = 1.52) from five universities across Canada who completed surveys that assessed their personality (traits related to hopelessness and neuroticism), psychological distress (anxious and depressive symptoms and pandemic-related distress), mental well-being and academic engagement behaviors. The results showed that students with higher HOP and greater neuroticism reported more depressive symptoms, which in turn was associated with poorer mental well-being and academic engagement. In contrast, higher levels of HOP and neuroticism were associated with greater academic engagement through increasing anxiety symptoms, which may reflect an underlying fear of failure. These findings suggest that young adults with distress-prone personality traits can increase vulnerability to poorer mental health and academic engagement. Educational interventions that target specific personality traits may help identify high-risk students and provide more tailored academic support to help them cope with psychological distress and reduce maladaptive learning patterns during the transition to university.</p>

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Distress-prone personality traits, mental well-being, and academic engagement among emerging adults across five Canadian universities

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年4月11日

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  • Meng Qi Wu,
  • Paweena Sukhawathanakul,
  • Allyson F. Hadwin,
  • Kara Thompson,
  • Patricia J. Conrod,
  • Matthew T. Keough,
  • Marvin Krank,
  • Sherry H. Stewart

摘要

Compared with adolescence, emerging adulthood is associated with increases in mental well-being, which likely reflects developmental gains in autonomy as youth navigate new learning, occupational, and social environments. However, individuals with distress-prone personality traits such as higher levels of hopelessness (HOP) may be more at risk for psychological maladjustment, which can in turn affect their sense of well-being and ability to overcome challenges associated with the transition to post secondary education. The current study examines whether distress-prone personality traits (HOP and neuroticism) influence postsecondary students’ mental well-being and academic engagement through mediational links with a range of psychological distress indicators (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and COVID-19-related traumatic distress). The participants (N = 1507; 65.2% women) were first- and second-year undergraduate students aged 18 to 25 years (M = 19.17, SD = 1.52) from five universities across Canada who completed surveys that assessed their personality (traits related to hopelessness and neuroticism), psychological distress (anxious and depressive symptoms and pandemic-related distress), mental well-being and academic engagement behaviors. The results showed that students with higher HOP and greater neuroticism reported more depressive symptoms, which in turn was associated with poorer mental well-being and academic engagement. In contrast, higher levels of HOP and neuroticism were associated with greater academic engagement through increasing anxiety symptoms, which may reflect an underlying fear of failure. These findings suggest that young adults with distress-prone personality traits can increase vulnerability to poorer mental health and academic engagement. Educational interventions that target specific personality traits may help identify high-risk students and provide more tailored academic support to help them cope with psychological distress and reduce maladaptive learning patterns during the transition to university.