Predictors of Hope and Hopelessness in Post-Secondary Students

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Authors

Keshoofy, Aria

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Volume Title

Publisher

University of Guelph

Abstract

Hopelessness has been associated with several negative mental health outcomes. However, hopelessness and mental health crises continue to rise on Canadian post-secondary campuses, suggesting a need for upstream interventions that address the causes of these problems. This thesis comprised two complementary studies that explored factors associated with hopelessness on Canadian post-secondary campuses. The first made use of Canadian data from the National College Health Assessment and identified fourteen statistically and epidemiologically significant risk/protective factors for hopelessness using multi-level logistic regression. The second study used semi-structured interviews and identified several key themes concerning hopelessness on campuses including hopeful thinking as a mental health buffer during times of high stress and uncertainty. The results of these studies highlight potential interventions and targets to improve hopefulness on university campuses.

Description

Keywords

Hope, Hopelessness, Mental Health, NCHA-II, Post-Secondary, University

Citation