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

Abstract

Introduction: Students 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. Methods: Students 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. Results: All 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. Conclusion: Universities should focus on the development of protective factors to support students' well-being and help them to flourish in their studies.