Assessing College Students’ Social and Emotional Strengths: A Cross-Cultural Comparison from Mexico, United States, and Spain

Michael J.,Victoria Soto-Sanz,Agustín E.,Meiki Chan,Erin Dowdy,Juan C.,Leticia Chacón-Gutiérrez,Karen Nylund-Gibson,Tíscar Tíscar,José A.

doi:10.12973/ejper.4.2.123

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify">Endeavors supporting college students’ positive psychosocial development are gaining attention and investment in various countries and social contexts. Higher education experiences provide new academic, social, and vocational advancement opportunities at a critical developmental stage. However, higher education can also cause distress due to the challenges and stressors present during this new stage of increased independence. The Social Emotional Health Survey-Higher Education (SEHS-HE) assesses the core psychosocial strengths of youths transitioning from secondary schools into higher education institutions (IHE) to aid campus student support services. The present study sought to extend the SEHS-HE research by examining its application with samples from Mexico (n = 4,207), United States (n = 1,638), and Spain (n = 1,734), college students. Confirmatory factor analyses investigated the hypothesized SEHS-HE higher-order factor model. The Mexico sample returned an acceptable model fit, but the USA and Spain samples had a suboptimal fit; hence, we explored alternative models. A two-level structure had full invariance for all three samples. This study extends the current scholarship on the conceptual model and psychometric properties of SEHS-HE. The discussion focuses on implications for future research to enhance SEHS-HE in national and cross-national research and practice.</p>

Highlights

The first onset of mental health difficulties is most prevalent in young people before age 24, between the ages of 16 and 25, when students proceed to postsecondary institutions of higher education (IHE; Martin, 2010)
Such screening may be crucial within higher education settings as positive traits can mediate the effect of a wide variety of stressors students may encounter in college and help students adapt to a demanding environment and psychological distress
While the chi-square significant, χ2 = 9578.17, df = 578, p < .01, all other fit indices fell within the recommended criteria, SRMR = .061, root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .045, 90% CI[.045, .046], comparative fit index (CFI) =

Summary

Introduction

The first onset of mental health difficulties is most prevalent in young people before age 24, between the ages of 16 and 25, when students proceed to postsecondary institutions of higher education (IHE; Martin, 2010). / Assessing College Students’ Social and Emotional Strengths is a pressing concern for higher education institutions worldwide (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021). Recent research highlights the importance of assessing complete mental health, including distress symptoms and student strengths (Furlong et al, 2014). Such screening may be crucial within higher education settings as positive traits can mediate the effect of a wide variety of stressors students may encounter in college and help students adapt to a demanding environment and psychological distress. The Social Emotional Health Survey-Higher Education (SEHS-HE; Furlong et al, 2017) attempts to fill this assessment gap and provides insights into college students’ psychological strengths and competencies

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Discussion

Conclusion