The Role of Positive Psychology, Cultural, and Family Factors on Hispanic/Latino College Students’ Depressive Symptoms and Subjective Happiness

Abstract

This study examined how presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, hope, gratitude, enculturation, and family influenced Hispanic/Latino college students' depression and subjective happiness. The first regression model showed that hope, presence of meaning in life, family, and search for meaning in life were related with depression. The second showed that gratitude and presence of meaning in life were related with subjective happiness. Findings and recommendations for counselors and higher education professionals are provided. Resumen Este estudio examinó cómo la presencia del sentido de vida, buscándole sentido a la vida, esperanza, gratitud, enculturación, y familia influencían la depresión y felicidad subjetiva en estudiantes universitarios hispanos/latinos. El primer modelo de regresión demostró que esperanza, presencia de sentido de vida, familia, y búsqueda del sentido de vida estaban relacionados con la depresión. La segunda demostró que gratitud y presencia del sentido de vida estaban relacionadas con la felicidad subjetiva. Hallazgos y recomendaciones para consejeros y profesionales de educación superior se proveen.

“The War Still Continues,” Part II: The Importance of Positive Validation for Undocumented Students One Year After Trump’s Presidential Victory

“…Wray-Lake et al (2018) conducted a quantitative study with a sample of 562 Latinx students, and they found that many students experienced "negatively valenced emotions," including fear and anxiety, because of President Trump's anti-immigration policies, fears for their future, and racist rhetoric in the media and politics (p. 18). Fortunately, familial and school support helps reduce anxiety and stress (Potochnick & Perreira, 2010), though further counseling and psychological services are needed for positive socioemotional development (Hinojosa & Cavazos Vela, 2017). Rendón's (1994Rendón's ( , 2002 validation theory exposes the limitations in previous student development models that focused solely on 4-year university, traditional, and residential students (Astin, 1984;Tinto, 1987).…”

“Dando gracias”: Gratitude, social connectedness, and subjective happiness among bilingual Latinx college students.

“…DANDO GRACIAS wider range of age that includes more graduate students than previous studies on gratitude and positive psychology (see Algoe et al, 2008Algoe et al, , 2010Corona et al, 2020;Hinojosa & Vela, 2019;Vela et al, 2018).…”

“…Another study found that family importance is linked to positive career development, and subjective happiness in Latinx college students (Vela, Castro, et al, 2015). While subjective happiness in this population is not as wellstudied, Hinojosa and Vela (2019) found that gratitude was related to greater subjective happiness among Latinx college students at a Hispanic Serving Institution.…”

“…Contrary to other constructs (e.g., positive affect, satisfaction with life), subjective happiness is viewed as a stable trait rather than temporary affective or cognitive state (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Subjective happiness is positively correlated to gratitude (Hinojosa & Vela, 2019), life satisfaction, psychological well-being (Segrin & Taylor, 2007), academic motivation (Gabriele, 2008), self-esteem, career satisfaction (Lyubomirsky et al, 2005), daily spiritual experience (Vela, Castro, et al, 2015), meaning in life (Vela et al, 2014), and hope and optimism (Vela, Lu, et al, 2015). Schnettler et al (2015) found that for Chilean college students, family support was positively correlated with subjective happiness.…”

Hope's relationship with resilience and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In addition to hope’s effects transcending populations, it has been examined in the context of various cultures prior to the pandemic [ [46] , [47] , [48] ] and during it in multiple countries [ 25 ]. Some of the countries hope’s effects have been investigated in during the pandemic are Japan, Turkey, Spain, the U.S., China, Brazil, and many others, being investigated in a total of 13 countries [ 18 , 19 , 25 , 40 , 45 , 49 ].…”