4/11/2017 Utah Psychological Association Student Poster Spotlight: The Moderating Role of Social Support in College Student Anxiety, Payton J. Jones & G. Tyler L…
Enter search string
Utah Psychological Association
Home > Forums > UPA Posts > Student Poster Spotlight: The Moderating Role of Social Support in College Student Anxiety, Payton J. Jones & G. Tyler Lefevor
Back to list
Student Poster Spotlight: The Moderating Role of Social Support in College Student Anxiety, Payton J. Jones & G. Tyler Lefevor July 17, 2016 12:44 PM | Tom Mullin (Administrator)
The Moderating Role of Social Support in College Student Anxiety Payton J. Jones & G. Tyler Lefevor Anxiety is the top mental health concern among college students, with an unprecedented 12.4% of college students diagnosed or treated for anxiety in 2013 (Samuolis, Barcellos, LaFlam, Belson, & Berard, 2015). Perhaps more concerning than the prevalence of anxiety among college students is the fact that this number is increasing over time, without any definite reasons for this increase (Kitzrow, 2003). Academic and financial concerns have been implicated in the presence of anxiety in college students (Misra & McKean, 2000; Roberts, Golding, & Towell, 1998). Students with academic concerns are more likely to develop anxiety disorders, and students with anxiety disorders are more likely to have more academic troubles in the future (Misra & McKean, 2000; Bredemeier & Berenbaum, 2013). Students with financial concerns are also more likely to be anxious, which may help explain the parallel between increasing costs of higher education and increasing rates of anxiety in students (Archuleta, Dale, & Spann, 2013). We hypothesized that the effect of academic and financial concerns on anxiety would be moderated by the level of social support available to the student. We used the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) database to investigate the effect of financial concern and academic distress on student anxiety, as well as the moderating effect of social support on each variable. Results indicated that financial concern, academic distress, and social support all had significant main effects on the level of anxiety. In addition, we found that social support moderated the effect of both financial concern and academic distress on student anxiety. The finding that academic and financial concerns contribute to anxiety is unsurprising, given previous research. However, the role of social support in both directly reducing anxiety and in moderating the effect of academic and financial concerns is key to effectively combating the rising anxiety among college populations. By fostering appropriate social support networks, universities and college counseling centers can help moderate the stresses faced by college students. Payton Jeffrey Jones recently completed an undergraduate degree in psychology at Brigham Young University, and has been admitted to continue his studies as a graduate student in clinical psychology at Harvard University. He has collaborated on projects investigating positive psychology interventions and anxiety in college students. Payton is interested in pursuing research regarding the social and cognitive factors in the development of depression and anxiety. He is especially interested in how cognitive models of change can be applied to prevent the development of these disorders. He will be researching at Harvard under the direction of Richard J. McNally, and plans to pursue a career in academia after the conclusion of his studies. https://utpsych.wildapricot.org/blogposts/4137197
1/2
4/11/2017 Utah Psychological Association Student Poster Spotlight: The Moderating Role of Social Support in College Student Anxiety, Payton J. Jones & G. Tyler L…
Researcher Spotlight Tyler Lefevor (B.S., Brigham Young University 2010) is a fifthyear graduate student in the counseling psychology Ph.D. program. His research work focuses on the ethical and moral aspects of human flourishing and the impact of the intersection between minority sexuality and religion on mental health. At the University of Miami, Tyler worked with Dr. Blaine Fowers to challenge contemporary notions of prosociality through a metaanalysis of helping behavior studies and continued this work in his dissertation through an empirical study investigating trait and situational explanations of helping. As a gay Mormon, Tyler is active in LGBTQ and religious communities in promoting social change through creating meaningful dialogue. In the past year, Tyler has trained members of therapeutic, religious, and LGBTQ communities on how to respond to individuals experiencing conflict between faith and sexuality through a series of researchinformed presentations and focus group discussions. Tyler is currently a predoctoral intern at Brigham Young University’s Counseling and Psychological Services and will be taking a position for the 20162017 training year at Stanford’s Counseling and Psychological Services where he will work primarily with gender and sexual minority students. Tyler loves being active, spending time in the mountains, and creating new culinary masterpieces. Add comment
Like 3
Share
Tweet
Share
0
UPA Address: 5442 South 900 East, Suite 512 | Salt Lake City, UT 84117 |(801) 4100337
[email protected]
https://utpsych.wildapricot.org/blogposts/4137197
2/2
