engleski

Can social problem-solving help students alleviate stress

There has been an increasing number of university students manifesting severe symptoms of stress and anxiety in the last fifteen years. All students face various everyday academic, financial, personal and interpersonal issues and career challenges, but those who leave home for study experience greater amount of stressors and have additional responsibilities in comparison with those who live with their parents. Most students are resilient, but some may develop serious problems. Problem solving is an important general coping strategy that can improve person's ability to cope with stress and prevent psychological maladjustment. The main goals of this study were to check differences in the level of stress, psychological distress, problem orientations and problem-solving styles between those students that live at home and those who have moved from home, as well as to check the effects of stress and social problem-solving ability in the general psychological distress in these two groups of students. Students of different years of study from the University of Rijeka (N = 697, 72.2% female, 62% have moved from home) completed an online questionnaire that included Social problem-solving inventory (SPSI- R), Clinical outcome in routine evaluation (CORE- OM) and an evaluation of perceived stress in the last six months. Students that left home for college reported a higher level of psychological distress and more negative problem orientations than those who stayed with their parents. The perceived stress and negative problem orientation are significant predictors of psychological distress in both groups of students. Positive problem orientation is a weak protective factor for those who live with their family and avoiding/impulsive problem-solving style has a negative effect on psychological distress in those students who have moved from home. The results offer some implications for preventive programs that can help students develop more efficient problem orientations and styles in order to alleviate their resilience and to improve their academic and everyday functioning.

university students ; stress ; social problem-solving ; psychological distress

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