College student mental health and quality of workplace relationships

ABSTRACT

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the effect of quality of workplace relationships on the mental health of employed undergraduates, with work-related variables as a potential mechanism. Participants: Participants were 170 employed students (76% female, average age = 19.9) recruited in March 2011. Most worked part-time and had been at their jobs over a year. Methods: Students were recruited from an undergraduate introductory psychology course and completed online surveys about the quality of workplace relationships, mental health (ie, somatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction), and work-related variables (ie, job satisfaction, support, turnover and burnout). Results: Students who reported having workplace relationships with co-occurring positivity and negativity had worse self-reported mental health outcomes than students reporting having wholly positive relationships. The relationship between workplace relationship quality and mental health was mediated by negative work-related variables. Conclusions: Workplace relationships—even in part-time employment settings—influence college students' mental health.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• relationship quality
• workplace relationships

Acknowledgments

Elizabeth D. Cordero, PhD, helped edit the initial manuscript. Maija Reblin, PhD, Bert N. Uchino, PhD, and Douglas Thomson, PhD, all provided helpful comments in the revision of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of San Diego State University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.