A Person-Centered Investigation Into the Co-Development of Perceived Stress and Internalizing Symptoms Among Post-Secondary Students

The early post-secondary years are regarded as a period of heightened vulnerability for stress and internalizing symptoms among emerging adults. However, there is a lack of research examining variability in stress and internalizing symptoms among students, the co-occurrence of stress and internalizi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth and adolescence 2023-04, Vol.52 (4), p.852-865
Main Authors: Ewing, Lexi, Hamza, Chloe A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Child and School Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Empirical Research
Health Psychology
History of Psychology
Law and Psychology
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Psychological distress
Psychology
Stress
Students
White people
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Summary:The early post-secondary years are regarded as a period of heightened vulnerability for stress and internalizing symptoms among emerging adults. However, there is a lack of research examining variability in stress and internalizing symptoms among students, the co-occurrence of stress and internalizing symptoms, or predictors of distinct profiles of stress and internalizing symptoms. To address these gaps in the literature, 1125 ethnically diverse first-year students (71% female; M age = 17.96 years, SD = 0.69; 55% East or South Asian, 21% Caucasian, 24% other ethnicity) were surveyed three times across the first year of university. Latent growth mixture models revealed four distinct profiles (i.e., high distress, moderate increasing distress, low distress, high decreasing distress), in which patterns of perceived stress and internalizing symptoms co-occurred. Higher levels of exposure to stressful life events, identifying as female and/or LGBQ+ were associated with increasing and high distress profiles. The findings underscore variability in distress among students, as well as the strong associations between stressful experiences, perceived stress, and internalizing symptoms.
ISSN:0047-2891
1573-6601
DOI:10.1007/s10964-023-01738-1