Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among Taiwanese college student’s psychological well-being, spiritual well-being, coping strategies, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The significant factors influencing psychological well-being and suicidal ideation were also examined.
Research Questions:
- What were the relationships among Taiwanese college student’s psychological well-being, spiritual well-being, coping strategies, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation?
- What were the significant predictors of Taiwanese college students’ psychological well-being and suicidal ideation?
Methods:
This was a cross sectional descriptive research design. The data was collected by structured questionnaires and SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis including descriptive data, Pearson Correlation, and Stepwise Multiple Regression.
Results:
There were 180 college students including 53 male (29.4%), 127 female (70.6%) recruited in this study in Taiwan. The mean age of college students was 19.17 (SD = 2.60). Fifty (27.8%) participants were nursing students and 130 (72.2%) were in other majors. One hundred and seventy-nine (99.4%) were single and 101 (56.1%) participants were not religious. The statistical significant factors related to psychological well-being included spiritual well-being (r = 0.665, p ≤ 0.001), faith/belief (r = 0.437, p ≤ 0.001), life/self responsibility (r = 0.441, p ≤ 0.001), life satisfaction/ self-actualization (r = 0.663, p ≤ 0.001), suicidal ideation (r = -0.445, p ≤ 0.001), problem-focused engagement (r = 0.33, p ≤ 0.001), problem-focused disengagement (r = 0.474, p ≤ 0.001), anxiety (r = -0.351, p ≤ 0.001), depression (r = -0.605, p ≤ 0.001), and drinking alcohol because of negative emotion (r = -0.253, p ≤ 0.001). The statistical significant factors related to suicidal ideation included psychological well-being (r = -0.445, p ≤ 0.001), autonomy (r = -0.223, p ≤ 0.01), environmental mastery (r = -0.447, p ≤ 0.001), personal growth (r = -0.232, p ≤ 0.01), positive relationship with others (r = -0.331, p ≤ 0.001), purpose in life (r = -0.254, p ≤ 0.001), self-acceptance (r = -0.399, p ≤ 0.001), spiritual well-being (r = -0.335, p ≤ 0.001), life/self responsibility (r = -0.228, p ≤ 0.01), life satisfaction/ self-actualization (r = -0.398, p ≤ 0.001), problem-focused engagement coping strategies(r = -0.212, p ≤ 0.01), problem-focused disengagement coping strategies (r = -0.307, p ≤ 0.001), emotion-focused engagement coping strategies (r = 0.265, p ≤ 0.001), emotion-focused disengagement coping strategies(r = 0.328, p ≤ 0.001), anxiety (r = 0.613, p ≤ 0.001), depression (r = 0.660, p ≤ 0.001), and drinking alcohol because of negative emotion (r = 0.416, p ≤ 0.001). Stepwise Multiple Regression was used to analyze how much of psychological well-being was predicted by the spiritual well-being, coping strategies, anxiety, and depression. The model variables accounted for 56% of the psychological well-being variance. Higher scores of spiritual well-being (Beta = 0.335, p ≤ 0.001), higher scores of life satisfaction/ self-actualization (Beta = 0.182, p ≤ 0.05), and higher scores of problem-focused disengagement coping strategies (Beta = 0.157, p ≤ 0.05) were found to predict significantly greater psychological well-being. Lower scores of depression (Beta = -0.287, p ≤ 0.001) was found to predict significantly greater psychological well-being. Stepwise Multiple Regression was used to analyze how much of suicidal ideation was predicted by the spiritual well-being, coping strategies, anxiety, and depression. The model variables accounted for 53.1% of the suicidal variance. Higher scores of life satisfaction/ self-actualization (Beta = -0.282, p ≤ 0.001), and higher scores of problem-focused disengagement coping strategies (Beta = -0.2, p ≤ 0.01) were found to predict significantly lower suicidal ideation. Higher scores of depression (Beta = 0.404, p ≤ 0.001), higher scores of anxiety (Beta = 0.307, p ≤ 0.001), using emotion-focused engagement coping strategies (Beta = 0.166, p ≤ 0.05), and emotion-focused disengagement coping strategies (Beta = 0.268, p ≤ 0.001) were found to predict significantly greater suicidal ideation.
Conclusion:
The results of this study provide an evidence based information for higher education to increase college students’ psychological well-being, spiritual well-being, and problem focus coping strategies in order to decrease their anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.