Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Investigation Of Existential And Positive Psychological Resources In College Students, Ian Lesueur

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The number of college students reporting moderate to severe mental health symptoms has steadily increased since the 1990s to the point of a “mental health crisis” occurring on the majority of American college campuses (Joyce, 2016, p. 17). Students face a number of stressors including academic pressure, developmental challenges, and the existential issues of meaning in life and identity formation. Unfortunately, many college students struggle to respond to psychological stress in healthy and adaptive ways. This study measured the relationships between positive psychological resources, existential thought, coping strategies, and mental health symptoms among a national sample of 251 undergraduate students. …