Resiliency, Generalized Self-Efficacy and Mindfulness as Moderators of the Relationship Between Stress and Both Life Satisfaction and Depression Among College Students: An Investigation of the Resilience Process

This dissertation attempted to add to the resilience literature by answering two research questions. The first was: "does resiliency serve as a unique protective factor compared to generalized self-efficacy (GSE) and mindfulness?" It was hypothesized that (1a) GSE, mindfulness and resiliency at time 1 would all uniquely predict lower depression and higher life-satisfaction at time 2; (1b) resiliency would be a stronger predictor of these outcomes than mindfulness and GSE; and (2) resiliency would uniquely buffer the relationship between stress and both time 2 depression and life satisfaction. The second question was: "Is resiliency predicted by GSE and mindfulness, or, alternatively, does resiliency predict or have a bidirectional relationship with these factors?" It was hypothesized that (3) there would be a bidirectional relationship between resiliency and both GSE and mindfulness. All hypotheses were investigated utilizing hierarchical multiple regression. Hypothesis 3 was assessed by examining the R² increment associated with the block containing the interaction terms and the regression coefficients associated with each interaction term, by performing the simple slopes test, and by graphing significant interactions. Overall, the findings of the present study were contrary to hypothesized outcomes and inconsistent with most previous research. With regard to depression, Hypotheses 1a, 1b, and 2 were not supported. Regarding life-satisfaction, the results differed by gender and academic status. GSE directly predicted higher life satisfaction among women and undergraduate students, whereas resiliency predicted greater life satisfaction only among graduate students. Hypothesis 2 was not supported among women. Among men, higher levels of GSE exacerbated the inverse relationship between perceived general stress and future life satisfaction. Additionally, among men and both graduate and undergraduate students, resiliency exacerbated the inverse relationship between life event stress and life satisfaction. Hypothesis 3 was not supported. However, also among men, mindfulness buffered the relationship between life event stress and life satisfaction such that, for higher levels of mindfulness, increasing life event stress was less strongly related to lower life satisfaction. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.