Academic Stress, Resilience, and Psychological Well-Being among University Students: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71238/snhss.v3i01.205Abstract
University students face persistent academic demands that can erode psychological well-being, yet the psychological resources that explain why some students remain well while others do not are still debated. This study examined whether resilience mediates the relationship between academic stress and psychological well-being among university students using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. A cross-sectional survey of 412 undergraduate students measured academic stress (Perception of Academic Stress Scale), resilience (CD-RISC-10), and psychological well-being (Ryff's six-dimension short form). Using a two-step approach, the measurement model showed excellent fit, χ2(51) = 57.78, CFI = .997, RMSEA = .018, and satisfactory reliability and convergent validity. In the structural model, academic stress was negatively related to resilience (β = −.40) and to psychological well-being (β = −.20), while resilience strongly predicted well-being (β = .60). Bootstrapping (2,000 resamples) confirmed a significant indirect effect of academic stress on well-being through resilience (β = −.24, 95% CI [−.31, −.17]), accounting for about 54% of the total effect, and the partial mediation model fitted significantly better than the full mediation model. The structural relations were invariant across gender. The findings indicate that resilience is a central psychological pathway linking academic stress to well-being, and that university programs should combine stress reduction with resilience-building interventions.
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References
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C. Fornell and D. F. Larcker, “Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error,” J. Mark. Res., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 39–50, 1981, doi: 10.1177/002224378101800104.
J. F. Hair, W. C. Black, B. J. Babin, and R. E. Anderson, Multivariate Data Analysis, 8th ed. Andover, U.K.: Cengage Learning, 2019.
K. J. Preacher and A. F. Hayes, “Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models,” Behav. Res. Methods, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 879–891, 2008, doi: 10.3758/BRM.40.3.879.
P. E. Shrout and N. Bolger, “Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations,” Psychol. Methods, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 422–445, 2002, doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422.
A. F. Hayes, Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach, 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press, 2018.
F. F. Chen, “Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance,” Struct. Equ. Model., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 464–504, 2007, doi: 10.1080/10705510701301834.
G. W. Cheung and R. B. Rensvold, “Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance,” Struct. Equ. Model., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 233–255, 2002, doi: 10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5.
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P. M. Bentler, “Comparative fit indexes in structural models,” Psychol. Bull., vol. 107, no. 2, pp. 238–246, 1990, doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238.
J. H. Steiger, “Structural model evaluation and modification: An interval estimation approach,” Multivariate Behav. Res., vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 173–180, 1990, doi: 10.1207/s15327906mbr2502_4.
L. Hu and P. M. Bentler, “Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives,” Struct. Equ. Model., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1–55, 1999, doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118.
J. B. Schreiber, A. Nora, F. K. Stage, E. A. Barlow, and J. King, “Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review,” J. Educ. Res., vol. 99, no. 6, pp. 323–338, 2006, doi: 10.3200/JOER.99.6.323-338.
J. Cohen, Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1988. doi: 10.4324/9780203771587.
R. M. Ryan and E. L. Deci, “On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being,” Annu. Rev. Psychol., vol. 52, pp. 141–166, 2001, doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141.
S. E. Maxwell and D. A. Cole, “Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation,” Psychol. Methods, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 23–44, 2007, doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.12.1.23.
R. P. Auerbach et al., “WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders,” J. Abnorm. Psychol., vol. 127, no. 7, pp. 623–638, 2018, doi: 10.1037/abn0000362.
R. Beiter et al., “The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students,” J. Affect. Disord., vol. 173, pp. 90–96, 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054.
M. Mofatteh, “Risk factors associated with stress, anxiety, and depression among university undergraduate students,” AIMS Public Heal., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 36–65, 2021, doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2021004.
M. C. Pascoe, S. E. Hetrick, and A. G. Parker, “The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education,” Int. J. Adolesc. Youth, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 104–112, 2020, doi: 10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823.
D. Bedewy and A. Gabriel, “Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale,” Heal. Psychol. Open, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1–9, 2015, doi: 10.1177/2055102915596714.
R. Misra and M. McKean, “College students’ academic stress and its relation to their anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction,” Am. J. Health Stud., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 41–51, 2000.
R. Dyson and K. Renk, “Freshmen adaptation to university life: Depressive symptoms, stress, and coping,” J. Clin. Psychol., vol. 62, no. 10, pp. 1231–1244, 2006, doi: 10.1002/jclp.20295.
B. Bewick, G. Koutsopoulou, J. Miles, E. Slaa, and M. Barkham, “Changes in undergraduate students’ psychological well-being as they progress through university,” Stud. High. Educ., vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 633–645, 2010, doi: 10.1080/03075070903216643.
S. S. Luthar, D. Cicchetti, and B. Becker, “The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work,” Child Dev., vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 543–562, 2000, doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00164.
A. S. Masten, “Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development,” Am. Psychol., vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 227–238, 2001, doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227.
G. Windle, “What is resilience? A review and concept analysis,” Rev. Clin. Gerontol., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 152–169, 2011, doi: 10.1017/S0959259810000420.
M. L. Brewer et al., “Resilience in higher education students: A scoping review,” High. Educ. Res. Dev., vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 1105–1120, 2019, doi: 10.1080/07294360.2019.1626810.
C. D. Ryff, “Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being,” J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 1069–1081, 1989, doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069.
C. D. Ryff and B. H. Singer, “Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being,” J. Happiness Stud., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 13–39, 2008, doi: 10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0.
R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkman, Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York, NY, USA: Springer, 1984.
S. E. Hobfoll, “Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress,” Am. Psychol., vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 513–524, 1989, doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513.
M. M. Tugade and B. L. Fredrickson, “Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences,” J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 320–333, 2004, doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.320.
B. L. Fredrickson, “The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions,” Am. Psychol., vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 218–226, 2001, doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218.
A. Bandura, Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York, NY, USA: W. H. Freeman, 1997.
G. E. Richardson, “The metatheory of resilience and resiliency,” J. Clin. Psychol., vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 307–321, 2002, doi: 10.1002/jclp.10020.
R. B. Kline, Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, 4th ed. New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press, 2016.
J. C. Anderson and D. W. Gerbing, “Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach,” Psychol. Bull., vol. 103, no. 3, pp. 411–423, 1988, doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.103.3.411.
B. M. Byrne, Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming, 3rd ed. New York, NY, USA: Routledge, 2016. doi: 10.4324/9781315757421.
R. C. MacCallum, M. W. Browne, and H. M. Sugawara, “Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling,” Psychol. Methods, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 130–149, 1996, doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.1.2.130.
L. Campbell-Sills and M. B. Stein, “Psychometric analysis and refinement of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): Validation of a 10-item measure of resilience,” J. Trauma. Stress, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 1019–1028, 2007, doi: 10.1002/jts.20271.
K. M. Connor and J. R. T. Davidson, “Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC),” Depress. Anxiety, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 76–82, 2003, doi: 10.1002/da.10113.
T. D. Little, W. A. Cunningham, G. Shahar, and K. F. Widaman, “To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits,” Struct. Equ. Model., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 151–173, 2002, doi: 10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_1.
C. D. Ryff and C. L. M. Keyes, “The structure of psychological well-being revisited,” J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 719–727, 1995, doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719.
P. M. Podsakoff, S. B. MacKenzie, J.-Y. Lee, and N. P. Podsakoff, “Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies,” J. Appl. Psychol., vol. 88, no. 5, pp. 879–903, 2003, doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879.
C. Fornell and D. F. Larcker, “Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error,” J. Mark. Res., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 39–50, 1981, doi: 10.1177/002224378101800104.
J. F. Hair, W. C. Black, B. J. Babin, and R. E. Anderson, Multivariate Data Analysis, 8th ed. Andover, U.K.: Cengage Learning, 2019.
K. J. Preacher and A. F. Hayes, “Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models,” Behav. Res. Methods, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 879–891, 2008, doi: 10.3758/BRM.40.3.879.
P. E. Shrout and N. Bolger, “Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations,” Psychol. Methods, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 422–445, 2002, doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422.
A. F. Hayes, Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach, 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press, 2018.
F. F. Chen, “Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance,” Struct. Equ. Model., vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 464–504, 2007, doi: 10.1080/10705510701301834.
G. W. Cheung and R. B. Rensvold, “Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance,” Struct. Equ. Model., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 233–255, 2002, doi: 10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5.
D. L. Putnick and M. H. Bornstein, “Measurement invariance conventions and reporting: The state of the art and future directions for psychological research,” Dev. Rev., vol. 41, pp. 71–90, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2016.06.004.
P. M. Bentler, “Comparative fit indexes in structural models,” Psychol. Bull., vol. 107, no. 2, pp. 238–246, 1990, doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238.
J. H. Steiger, “Structural model evaluation and modification: An interval estimation approach,” Multivariate Behav. Res., vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 173–180, 1990, doi: 10.1207/s15327906mbr2502_4.
L. Hu and P. M. Bentler, “Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives,” Struct. Equ. Model., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1–55, 1999, doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118.
J. B. Schreiber, A. Nora, F. K. Stage, E. A. Barlow, and J. King, “Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review,” J. Educ. Res., vol. 99, no. 6, pp. 323–338, 2006, doi: 10.3200/JOER.99.6.323-338.
J. Cohen, Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1988. doi: 10.4324/9780203771587.
R. M. Ryan and E. L. Deci, “On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being,” Annu. Rev. Psychol., vol. 52, pp. 141–166, 2001, doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141.
S. E. Maxwell and D. A. Cole, “Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation,” Psychol. Methods, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 23–44, 2007, doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.12.1.23.
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