University Students’ Threat Perceptions, Mental Health and Well-Being, Hope and Academic Performance

Abstract

University is known to be a stressful period which has been associated with negative mental health and well-being outcomes. In an already vulnerable population, stress may be compounded by the fear of threatening world events. Threat perceptions too have been linked to maladaptive psychological outcomes, particularly among young people (18 – 24 years). Although this population is one of the most affected, it is also significantly under-researched. This project explores perceptions of threatening world events and predictors of academic achievement within the context of a first-year undergraduate cohort (N = 108). Participants were aged between 18 – 21 years (M = 18.7, SD = 0.87). They completed an online questionnaire which consisted of: a newly developed self-report scale assessing perceptions of threatening world events, and measures of psychological ill-being, well-being, the stress response, and trait hope. Quantitative analyses included Exploratory Factor Analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regression and relative importance regression analyses. The construct validity of the newly developed scale was inconclusive, but two out of the three extracted subscales had good internal reliability. A main finding of the study was that psychological health was tied into students’ pessimism about threatening world events and the negative affect they experienced. Psychological well-being and trait hope were associated with more effective coping with threat. The present study gives insight into how University students are perceiving and coping with threatening world events and provides the groundwork for understanding the support they require in this arena.