https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2325-7602
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Abstract
Objective: Investigate the association of positivity with generalized anxiety and the mediating roles of resilience and sense of belonging in underrepresented college students. Participants: College students (N = 425; 18.4% White, 17.9% Black, 40.2% Hispanic, 20.2% Asian; 38.1% first-generation; Mage = 19.06; 63.1% female) completed an online survey assessing positivity, anxiety, resilience, and belonging. Methods: Path analysis tested the proposed mediation model, controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, living status, and diagnosed disability. Results: Positivity was negatively associated with anxiety directly (ƅ = −.468, p < .001) and indirectly through resilience (ƅ = −.083, p < .001), but not through belonging (ƅ = −.026, p > .05). Positivity was associated with belonging (ƅ = .611, p < .001); belonging was not associated with anxiety (ƅ = −.042, p > .05). Conclusions: Findings highlight the benefit of positivity on anxiety and the mediating role of resilience among underrepresented college students.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin for their support of this project in helping recruit the student participants.
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 (IRB) of The University of Texas at Austin.
Funding
No funding was used to support the research. During the preparation of the manuscript, H. Matthew Lehrer was partially supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant T32HL082610.