High levels of anxiety and psychological well-being in college students: A dual factor model of mental health approach

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are prevalent among college students and contribute to problems in social and academic functioning. The primary focus in the anxiety literature has been on symptoms and deficits in functioning rather than psychological well-being. The present study investigated the extent to which high levels of anxiety co-occurred with self-reported psychological well-being using a dual-factor model of mental health approach. Participants (n = 100) were categorized into two groups (high anxiety crossed with low and high life satisfaction), and groups were compared on several psychological well-being indicators. Supporting a dual-factor approach, students reporting high levels of anxiety and life satisfaction reported higher levels of hope, grit, gratitude, self-focused positive rumination, and savoring of positive emotions than students reporting high levels of anxiety and low levels of life satisfaction. Groups did not differ in emotion-focused positive rumination or in dampening of positive emotion. These results highlight well-being heterogeneity within individuals reporting high levels of anxiety, with implications for treatment and prevention efforts.

Examining staff and faculty work–life balance and well-being using the dual continua model of mental health during COVID-19

“…The present study investigated WLB, quality of life, depression, and stress using a DCM of mental health framework in staff and faculty reporting high or low levels of anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study adds to a nascent literature addressing how high levels of anxiety co-occur with indicators of well-being (e.g., Carver et al, 2021;Franken et al, 2018). We predicted high levels of anxiety would not uniformly be associated with lower levels of WLB and quality of life, in line with a DCM of mental health.…”

“…People can be grouped into four categories (e.g., Eklund et al, 2010), high well-being and low distress ("complete mental health"), high well-being and high distress ("symptomatic but content"), low well-being and low distress ("at risk") and low well-being and high distress ("distressed"). An implication of this dual continua model is that an individual can simultaneously experience high levels of psychological distress with high levels of psychological well-being (for reviews see Arslan, 2018;Carver et al, 2021;Keyes, 2005;Renshaw & Cohen, 2014). Psychological distress increased at various time points following the onset of effects of COVID-19 (e.g., Vahratian et al, 2021).…”

“…In examining the dual continua model (DCM), typical well-being indicators have included life satisfaction and quality of life (Eklund et al, 2010;Renshaw & Cohen, 2014). Most studies have explored the DCM with healthy college students, children, or adolescents, with fewer studies investigating adults reporting high levels of psychological distress such as anxiety (e.g., Arslan & Allen, 2022;Carver et al, 2021;Franken et al, 2018;Suldo & Shaffer, 2008). To our knowledge, no published studies have investigated work-life balance, quality of life, depression, and stress in a sample of staff and faculty in a higher education setting with high and low anxiety levels using a DCM mental health framework during COVID-19, a gap we address in the present study.…”

“…2. low anxiety-low life satisfaction (n = 46, 15.4%; 3. high anxiety-high life satisfaction (n = 51, 17.1%); 4. high anxiety-low life satisfaction (n = 99, 33.1%; e.g., Carver et al, 2021;Eklund, et al, 2010).…”

Biology students’ convictions and moral disengagement toward bioethical issues: a path analysis

“…The model further shows that anxiety and extraversion have positive direct contributions to convictions. Carver et al ( 2021 ) claim that anxiety influences the problems in social and academic functioning of students. As part of the social aspect, decision-making is essential to interact with others.…”