Abstract
The goal of this cross-sectional, correlational study was to evaluate (a) whether beliefs about stress as enhancing versus debilitating (i.e., stress mindsets) vary across sources of stress that differ in duration (acute vs. chronic) and controllability, and (b) how general and source-specific stress mindsets relate to health and academic performance. College students (n = 498) self-reported their general and source-specific stress mindsets, perceived distress, health, coping, and GPA. Stress mindsets varied as a function of duration and controllability, and general stress mindsets were only weakly associated with source-specific mindsets. Consistent with previous research, general stress mindsets were associated with health, but some source-specific mindsets were more predictive of health than others-viewing stress from chronic controllable sources as debilitating was most predictive of poor mental and physical health. Measures of stress were also associated with health, and this association was moderated by stress mindsets, suggesting that viewing stress as enhancing can provide a psychological "buffer" against the negative effects of stress. Approach coping and perceived distress were examined as potential mediators of the links between stress mindset and health. Viewing stress as enhancing was related to greater use of approach coping and lower perceived distress, which in turn was related to better health. This research suggests that stress mindset interventions may benefit students' health, and that interventions targeting mindsets for chronic controllable sources of stress may be more effective than general stress mindset interventions.
Highlights
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. (Shakespeare, trans. 1992, 2.2.268–270)
Our results showed that mindsets about stress vary as a function of their source, and that participants viewed stress arising from controllable stressors as more enhancing than stress arising from uncontrollable stressors
In contrast to prior findings, stress mindsets were not associated with academic performance, as operationalized by self-reported grade point average (GPA) Third, we evaluated whether stress mindsets moderate the effects of stress on health, and found evidence that it does for some measures of health, but not others we explored approach coping and perceived distress as potential mediators of the relationship between stress and health
Summary
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. (Shakespeare, trans. 1992, 2.2.268–270). There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. A wealth of psychological research supports this statement, underscoring the power of beliefs in influencing behavior, achievement [1, 2], and health outcomes [3]. Research on the power of beliefs has expanded to the domain of stress. People have varying beliefs about stress: some perceive it to be motivational, beneficial, and “good”; whereas others perceive stress to be harmful, taxing, and “bad.” Neither belief is unfounded—. Stress mindsets and college health as a philanthropic gift to first author (A.J.) from the Charles Lafitte Foundation to the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University. There are no grant numbers associated with the funding for this project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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