Predictors of Hope and Hopelessness in Post-Secondary Students

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.