Psychological Well-Being in College Students: The Roles of Social Support and Dysfunctional Coping

Indianapolis, IN

As students develop and become involved in college, they find ways to cope with various stresses. One healthy way to cope and promote higher psychological well-being is to rely on others as social support, which includes families, friends, classmates, and college faculty (Chao, 2012). In recent years, the study of dysfunctional coping has become more prevalent among college students, and dysfunctional coping includes focusing on and venting emotions, behavioral disengagement, and mental disengagement (Brougham, Zail, Mendoza, & Miller, 2009). Accordingly, the purpose of my study is to examine if high levels of social support predicts high psychological well-being, if low dysfunctional coping predicts high psychological well-being, and if dysfunctional coping moderates the effect of social support on psychological well-being. Participants were from a small, private college in the Midwest. Data will be analyzed, and results will be discussed.