Well-Being, PTSD, College Adjustment in Student Veterans With and Without Disabilities

Abstract

We examined mediating effects of the pillars of well-being (i.e., positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment) on the relationship between PTSD symptoms and college life adjustment for student veterans. We recruited 205 student veterans. Mediation analysis was conducted to test whether the pillars of well-being mediate the relationship between PTSD and college life adjustment. The results showed that positive emotion and accomplishment had mediating effects on the relationship between PTSD symptoms and college adjustment.

Creating a college adjustment index score for student veterans with and without disabilities

“…Although the post–9/11 GI Bill helps many Veterans with disabilities attend school, more than 50% of SVDs are first-generation college students with minimal academic preparation compared to traditional civilian students so that SVDs experience additional challenges in coping with higher education demands ( 11 ). Many SVDs also experience academic-, transition-, and disability-related challenges and stressors, which is a significant rehabilitation, education, and public health concern ( 12 ). Literature has well-documented that factors contributing to college life and adjustment can be complex and cannot be reduced to a single factor, such as academic problems ( 8 ).…”

“…In addition to challenges and stressors reported above, disability/ies and chronic conditions associated with deployment may further negatively affect college life in SVDs ( 5 , 12 ). Previous research has well-documented that physical, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities are very common in student veterans ( 5 , 8 , 16 , 17 , 21 – 25 ).…”

“…Recent research examined emotions and wellbeing in SVDs disabilities and reported that higher levels of emotional character strengths were associated with higher levels GPA, optimism, hope, and resilience and lower levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and stress in this population ( 8 ). Researchers also examined whether pillars of wellbeing mediate the relationship between PTSD and college life adjustment and reported that positive emotions and accomplishment mediated the relationship between PTSD and college life in SVDs ( 12 ). One research examined flourishing as an emotional concept and reported that those with higher levels of flourishing had higher levels of resilience, life satisfaction, and wellbeing and lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in SVDs ( 33 ).…”

“…Another work examined hope and college adjustment and reported that hope was positively related to college adjustment in college students ( 54 ). A recent work examined wellbeing, PTSD, and college adjustment in SVDs and reported that positive emotions and sense of accomplishments mediated the relationship between PTSD and college adjustment ( 12 ). A similar research ( 8 ) reported that emotional strengths were positively associated with GPA in SVDs.…”

Basic needs support and achievement emotions in daily research of life scientists considering academic positions

“…However, despite the relevance of emotions during research investigations on emotions of academic staff are rare. Most research on emotions in academic contexts focused on school contexts (e.g., Pekrun, 2006) and undergraduate programs in the higher education context (Pekrun and Stephens, 2010;Umucu et al, 2022). To close this research gap, we examined in this study how academia can promote positive emotional experiences of researchers during research.…”