Title

Differences in hope, core self-evaluations, emotional well-being, and health risk behaviors in freshman university students

Publication Date

2019-10-01

UMMS Affiliation

Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Medicine; Graduate School of Nursing

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Health Psychology | Mental and Social Health | Nursing | Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychological Phenomena and Processes

Abstract

The purpose of this cross-sectional anonymous survey study was to explore differences in hope, core self-evaluations (CSE), emotional well-being, health risk behaviors, and academic performance by gender, race, and social desirability in a sample of freshman university students. Four hundred and ninety-five freshmen ages 18 to 21 (M age 18.4), 67% female attending a large public university in the Northeast participated in the study. A Health Risk Behavior Score, with scores ranging from 3 to 9, was calculated by creating risk categories for drug use, alcohol use, and sexual risk-taking. Hope and health risk behaviors did not differ by gender, however, men reported higher CSE and emotional well-being. There were racial differences in hope, CSE, emotional well-being, and health risk behaviors. Nurses and researchers should consider gender and racial differences when designing or implementing hope interventions. Future researchers should compare their findings with ours for patterns or convergence and divergence and aim for larger representative samples of nonwhite groups. These are necessary next steps to advance the understanding of the role hope may play in promoting mental health among diverse college students.

Keywords

core self‐evaluations, emotional well‐being, hope, sexual risk‐taking, substance use, young adults

DOI of Published Version

10.1111/nuf.12364

Source

Griggs S, Crawford SL. Differences in hope, core self-evaluations, emotional well-being, and health risk behaviors in freshman university students. Nurs Forum. 2019 Oct;54(4):505-512. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12364. Epub 2019 Jul 16. PMID: 31309592; PMCID: PMC6856360. Link to article on publisher's site

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Nursing forum

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

PubMed ID

31309592

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