The relationship between resilience, anxiety and depression among university students

Abstract

The global increase in mental health issues among university students, particularly their heightened vulnerability to anxiety and depression, underscores the need for more research on the mental health issues that are unique to the higher education context. Limited research has examined from a neurobiological perspective, the facets of resilience, despite the protective function that overall resilience may have in mitigating the symptoms of anxiety and depression. The aim of the current study was to explore the relative contribution of total resilience and facets of resilience on the variance observed on depression and anxiety outcomes among university students. This study entailed a secondary data analysis. The sample of this study comprised 135 university students. The Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Predictive 6-Factor Resilience Scale (a neurobiological resilience measure), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory comprised the assessment battery used in this study. The data analysis method used was Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and multiple regression analysis. The findings indicated that resilience and the distinct facets of resilience such as Tenacity and Momentum accounted for significant variance in depression and anxiety outcomes among students. In the context of universities, where student support divisions have limited resources and are overburdened with an increased demand for student mental health services, novel interventions to building resilience is necessary.