Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students
Objectives University students in Australia report higher levels of stress than non‐students of the same age, with females reporting higher stress than males. The ability to successfully adapt to, and cope with, stressful situations and events, often referred to as resilience, requires social and in...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12258 |
| _version_ | 1797681625952157696 |
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| author | Michael Lyvers Natalie Holloway Katarina Needham Fred A. Thorberg |
| author_facet | Michael Lyvers Natalie Holloway Katarina Needham Fred A. Thorberg |
| author_sort | Michael Lyvers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives University students in Australia report higher levels of stress than non‐students of the same age, with females reporting higher stress than males. The ability to successfully adapt to, and cope with, stressful situations and events, often referred to as resilience, requires social and interpersonal resources as well as the ability to effectively self‐regulate emotions. When such resources and abilities are deficient, responses to university stress are likely to be maladaptive. Deficient emotional self‐regulation is characteristic of individuals with the subclinical personality trait alexithymia, who also tend to suffer from social and interpersonal difficulties; thus students with alexithymia may be especially susceptible to university stress and associated adverse outcomes of low resilience. The present study examined resilience in relation to alexithymia, university stress, and two common outcomes of the latter in female university students: anxiety and problematic drinking. Method Validated self‐report measures of the relevant constructs were completed online by 136 female university students from two Australian universities. All participants indicated they had English‐language proficiency and no history of serious head injury or diagnosed psychological disorder. Results Serial mediation models indicated that resilience showed the predicted protective relationship to both problematic drinking and anxiety through lower levels of alexithymia and university stress. Conclusions Findings suggest that students who lack resilience are more likely to report stress at university, as well as associated adverse outcomes such as anxiety and problematic drinking, due to deficiencies in emotional self‐regulation and inadequate use of social and interpersonal resources for successful coping. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:47:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-01a8dbf43fa24e6bb5dbba368d60026b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0004-9530 1742-9536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:47:35Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-01a8dbf43fa24e6bb5dbba368d60026b2023-09-19T08:54:47ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAustralian Journal of Psychology0004-95301742-95362020-03-01721596710.1111/ajpy.1225812098960Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university studentsMichael Lyvers0Natalie Holloway1Katarina Needham2Fred A. Thorberg3Bond UniversityBond UniversityBond UniversityUniversity of OsloObjectives University students in Australia report higher levels of stress than non‐students of the same age, with females reporting higher stress than males. The ability to successfully adapt to, and cope with, stressful situations and events, often referred to as resilience, requires social and interpersonal resources as well as the ability to effectively self‐regulate emotions. When such resources and abilities are deficient, responses to university stress are likely to be maladaptive. Deficient emotional self‐regulation is characteristic of individuals with the subclinical personality trait alexithymia, who also tend to suffer from social and interpersonal difficulties; thus students with alexithymia may be especially susceptible to university stress and associated adverse outcomes of low resilience. The present study examined resilience in relation to alexithymia, university stress, and two common outcomes of the latter in female university students: anxiety and problematic drinking. Method Validated self‐report measures of the relevant constructs were completed online by 136 female university students from two Australian universities. All participants indicated they had English‐language proficiency and no history of serious head injury or diagnosed psychological disorder. Results Serial mediation models indicated that resilience showed the predicted protective relationship to both problematic drinking and anxiety through lower levels of alexithymia and university stress. Conclusions Findings suggest that students who lack resilience are more likely to report stress at university, as well as associated adverse outcomes such as anxiety and problematic drinking, due to deficiencies in emotional self‐regulation and inadequate use of social and interpersonal resources for successful coping.http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12258anxietypersonalitystresssubstance abuse and addiction |
| spellingShingle | Michael Lyvers Natalie Holloway Katarina Needham Fred A. Thorberg Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students Australian Journal of Psychology anxiety personality stress substance abuse and addiction |
| title | Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students |
| title_full | Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students |
| title_fullStr | Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students |
| title_short | Resilience, alexithymia, and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students |
| title_sort | resilience alexithymia and university stress in relation to anxiety and problematic alcohol use among female university students |
| topic | anxiety personality stress substance abuse and addiction |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12258 |
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