Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Spring 2021

Abstract

This evidence-based project sought to evaluate resilience in freshmen college students enrolled in a Bridge scholar program (BSP) in a liberal arts university in the southeastern United States. The American College Health Association (ACHA) found that stress and anxiety were the top two indicators for impacting academics in 2019 and had been at the top since 2009 at the university of study (ACHA, 2019). The study used a pretest and posttest design method with the implementation of a five-week resilience education intervention. The research questions (Q1-5) were: Q1: What effect did the intervention have on BSP student's resilience? Q2: What effect did the intervention have on BSP student’s health promoting behaviors? Q3: What effect did the intervention have on BSP student's perceived stress? Q4: What effect did the intervention have on BSP student’s anxiety? Q5: What effect did the intervention have on BSP student's knowledge of resilience, anxiety, and stress? There was no significant difference found in students’ resilience, health promoting behaviors, anxiety, or stress from baseline to two months. However, there was a slightly significant increase in students’ knowledge of resilience, stress and anxiety demonstrated from baseline to 2 months supporting the hypothesis (Z=2.787, p=.005). Results of the data may have been influenced by the current pandemic. Limitations of the study included a small sample size and limited time for the intervention. Future research should focus on a resilience education intervention for all college students, beginning in their freshmen year and continuing throughout their college career to prevent mental health problems and support student's future well-being.

Keywords: resilience, anxiety, stress, intervention, college students

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.