Avoidance coping and academic locus of control as mediators of the relationship between posttraumatic stress and academic achievement among first-year college students.

Background and Objectives: Posttraumatic stress (PTS) has been found to be associated with poor academic performance among college students. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this relationship is limited to the results of a few recent studies. The present study is aimed at expanding the literature in this area by examining whether avoidance coping and external academic locus of control (LOC) mediate the relationship between PTS and academic achievement among first-year college students. Design: A correlational study design was used. Students completed a quantitative survey in their first semester of college. After they completed their first academic year, we obtained their grade point averages (GPAs) through the university. Method: Participants included 280 first-year college students with a history of potentially traumatic events. Data obtained from these participants were analyzed using path analysis. Results: Two indirect paths from PTS to first-year GPA were significant, suggesting that external academic LOC mediated the effects of both PTS and avoidance coping on first-year GPA. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the interventions that target external academic LOC may help reduce the detrimental effects of PTS on academic achievement among trauma-exposed college students.

Posttraumatic stress, effort regulation, and academic outcomes among college students: A longitudinal study.

Entering college with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology has been linked to poor academic performance and increased risk for dropping out of college; however, little is known regarding the mechanisms by which PTSD symptoms have deleterious effects on college outcomes. Drawing from a self-regulated learning (SRL) perspective, which suggests that students' learning behaviors and outcomes can be influenced by contextual and developmental factors, we hypothesized that students who enter college with high PTSD symptomatology may experience difficulties in effort regulation, which in turn, may have deleterious effects on their academic performance and college persistence. These hypothesized relationships, as well as the potential gender differences in these relationships were examined using a longitudinal study design and a multigroup structural equation modeling approach. Of the 928 1st-year students who participated in the study, 484 (52.2%) students who reported lifetime exposure to traumatic events constituted the final sample of the study. The prevalence of PTSD among the trauma-exposed participants was 12.4%. After controlling for participation in on-campus activities and American College Testing (ACT) assessment scores, the relationship between PTSD symptomatology in the 1st semester of college and 2nd-year enrollment was mediated by effort regulation and 1st-year cumulative grade-point average (GPA). Specifically, participants who started college with higher levels of PTSD symptomatology also reported lower levels of effort regulation, which in turn, had a significant indirect effect on 2nd-year enrollment through 1st-year GPA. Results also indicated that the paths in the hypothesized model were not significantly different for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record

Accepting death as part of life: meaning in life as a means for dealing with loss among bereaved individuals.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the 3 dimensions of death acceptance (i.e., neutral, approach, and escape) and grief symptomatology, as well as whether the relationship between neutral acceptance and grief symptoms was mediated by meaning in life. Data were collected from 160 bereaved individuals. Only neutral acceptance was significantly associated with grief symptomatology; the relationship between the 2 variables was mediated by meaning in life. Participants who perceived death as a natural part of life reported having a greater sense of meaning in their lives, which, in turn, predicted lower grief symptomatology.

Authenticity, life satisfaction, and distress: a longitudinal analysis.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the reciprocal relationships between authenticity and measures of life satisfaction and distress using a 2-wave panel study design. Data were collected from 232 college students attending 2 public universities. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The results of the cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that after controlling for temporal stability, initial authenticity (Time 1) predicted later distress and life satisfaction (Time 2). Specifically, higher levels of authenticity at Time 1 were associated with increased life satisfaction and decreased distress at Time 2. Neither distress nor life satisfaction at Time 1 significantly predicted authenticity at Time 2. However, the relationship between Time 1 distress and Time 2 authenticity was not significantly different from the relationship between Time 1 authenticity and Time 2 distress. Results are discussed in light of humanistic-existential theories and the empirical research on well-being.