A Study on the Relationships between Distress Disclosure, Unsupportive Responses and Anxiety in College Students

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationships between distress disclosures, unsupportive responses, and anxiety, and to predict anxiety experienced by college students. Method: The subjects were students from universities in southern Taiwan. They were assessed by using a structural questionnaire including items on distress disclosure, unsupportive responses, and social support, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. A total of 1,650 questionnaires were sent out with 1,612 valid responses collected from December 2007 to March 2008; this was a response rate of 98%. Among the responses, 1540 were analyzed by SPSS12.0 using product-moment correlation and stepwise regression analysis. Results: Disclosure issues and unsupportive responses of college students had significant positive correlations (the more disclosure issues were, the more unsupportive responses). Disclosure intentions and distancing, blaming, bumbling and unsupportive responses of college students were significantly negatively correlated. Disclosure intentions had a significant negative correlation with anxiety in college students. Distancing, blaming, bumbling, and anxiety of college students had significant positive correlations. Factors predicting anxiety among college students were unsupportive responses, disclosure intentions, disclosure issues, disclosure subjects, and the amounts of variance interpreted were 8.8%. Conclusion: When handling anxiety in students, college counselors must take into consideration their expectations and the risks and effects of student's disclosing their anxiety. Counselors can help students find suitable outlets for sharing and exploring their problems. In this way, the students seeking help would encounter fewer unsupportive responses from the other person and may learn to try alternative ways to manage their anxiety.