Belongingness and Positivity: The Mediation Role of Problem Fields Among University Students

Year 2021, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 15 - 29, 19.11.2021

Özkan Çıkrıkçı , Neslihan Çıkrıkçı

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7584197

Abstract

While university students are fulfilling their developmental tasks, they can both possess academic and professional gains and face some problems. In the current paper, an evaluation based on problem fields of university students was carried out. The main aim of the present study was to explore the mediation roles of problem fields in the association between belongingness and positivity among university students. The study group was composed of 330 university students. The General Belongingness Scale, Problem Fields Scale, and Positivity Scale were used as measures. Pearson product-moment correlation and mediation analysis (Process Macro, Model 4) were applied as well as descriptive analysis to obtain statistical outcomes. Correlational analysis revealed that belongingness and positivity were associated with problems with family structure, problems with body image, problems with social competence, and problems with academic life. Additionally, there was significant association between belongingness and positivity. According to the results of mediation analysis, the indirect effect of belongingness on positivity through problem fields (problems with family structure, problems with body image, problems with social competence, and problems with academic life) was significant. All problem fields partially mediated the association between belongingness and positivity. It was concluded that belongingness and problem fields of university students may have possible contribution to the maintenance of the positivity. Research findings would provide empirical evidence to the positivity literature, particularly, in terms of problem fields among university students.

Keywords

Belongingness, problem fields, positivity, university students

References

• American Educational Research Association. (2011). Code of ethics. Retrieved August 26, 2021, from: https://www.aera.net/About-AERA/AERA-Rules-Policies/Professional-Ethics.
• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington: American Psychological Association.
• Arslan, G., & Allen, K. A. (2021). School victimization, school belongingness, psychological well-being, and emotional problems in adolescents. Child Indicators Research, 1-17. E-pub ahead of print.
• Avey, J. B., Wernsing, T. S., & Mhatre, K. H. (2011). A longitudinal analysis of positive psychological constructs and emotions on stress, anxiety, and well-being. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 18(2), 216-228.
• Barbaranelli, C., Paciello, M., Biagioli, V., Fida, R., & Tramontano, C. (2019). Positivity and behaviour: the mediating role of self-efficacy in organisational and educational settings. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(3), 707-727.
• Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.
• Bojuwoye, O. (2002). Stressful experiences of first year students of selected universities in South Africa. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 15(3), 277-290.
• Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC Public Health, 13, 119-139.
• Caprara, G. V., Alessandri, G., Eisenberg, N., Kupfer, A., Steca, P., Caprara, M. G., & Abela, J. (2012). The Positivity Scale. Psychological Assessment, 24, 701-712.
• Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and self-regulation. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and practice (pp. 31-51). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Ceyhan, E., & Ceyhan, A. A. (2011). Loneliness and depression levels of students using a counseling center. Education and Science, 36, 81-92.
• Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications.
• Çıkrıkçı, Ö. (2015). An investigation of the effect of need satisfaction based on self-determination theory on positive orientation in terms of attachment styles [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Educational Science Institute, Atatürk University.
• Çıkrıkçı, Ö., & Düzgün, Ş. (2013). A new scale to investigate university students' problems: The development and psychometric properties of the Problem Field Scale for university students. Online Journal of Counseling & Education, 2(4), 12-25.
• Çıkrıkçı, Ö., & Gençdoğan, B. (2020). Clarifying the associations among belongingness, setting life goals, need satisfaction and positive orientations: The model testing in accordance with the attachment styles. Current Psychology, 1-16. E-pub ahead of print.
• Çıkrıkçı, Ö., Çiftçi, M., & Gençdoğan, B. (2015). Pozitiflik ölçeği türkçe formu’nun psikometrik özellikleri [Article in Turkish]. The Journal of Happiness &Well-Being, 3(1), 57-76.
• DeWall, C. N., Deckman, T., Pond Jr, R. S., & Bonser, I. (2011). Belongingness as a core personality trait: How social exclusion influences social functioning and personality expression. Journal of Personality, 79(6), 1281-1314.
• Diener, E., & Lucas, R. E. (2000). Explaining differences in societal levels of happiness: Relative standards, need fulfillment, culture, and evaluation theory. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(1), 41-78.
• Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75.
• Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, youth, and crisis. New York: Norton.
• Erkan, S., Özbay, Y., Cihangir-Çankaya, Z., & Terzi, S. (2012). University students’ problem areas and psychological help-seeking willingness. Education and Science, 37, 94-107.
• Ernst, J. M., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2000). Lonely hearts: Psychological perspectives on loneliness. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 8(1), 1-22.
• Feist, J., & Feist, G.J. (2006). Theories of personality (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Ferguson, E. D. (2010). Adler’s innovative contributions regarding the need to belong. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 66(1), 1-7.
• Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
• Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226.
• Fredrickson, B. L. (2003). The value of positive emotions: The emerging science of positive psychology is coming to understand why it's good to feel good. American Scientist, 91(4), 330-335.
• Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing. American Psychologist, 60(7), 678–686.
• Fredrickson, B.L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1–53.
• Freud, S. (1953). On Aphasia: A Critical Study. International Universities Press.
• Goodenow, C. (1993). Classroom belonging among early adolescent students: Relationships to motivation and achievement. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 13(1), 21-43.
• Hagerty, B. M., Lynch-Sauer, J., Patusky, K., Bouwsema, M., & Collier, P. (1992). Sense of belonging: A vital mental health concept. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 6, 172-177.
• Harada, T. (2020). Learning from success or failure?–Positivity biases revisited. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1627.
• Hayes, J. A. (2018). Methodology in the social sciences (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.
• Hefferon, K. ve Boniwell, I. (2014). Pozitif psikoloji: Kuram, araştırma ve uygulamalar (T. Doğan, Çev.). Ankara: Nobel Akademik.
• Hong, L. & Wengboey, K. (2002). Types and characteristics of stress on college campus. Psychological Science (China), 25(4), 398-401.
• Huffman, J. C., DuBois, C. M., Healy, B. C., Boehm, J. K., Kashdan, T. B., Celano, C. M., …& Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). Feasibility and utility of positive psychology excercises for suicidal inpatients. General Hospital Psychiatry, 36, 88-94.
• İnanç, N., Savas, H. A., Tutkun, H., Herken, H., & Savas, E. (2004). The clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of the students psychiatrically examined at the Medico-Social Center of Gaziantep University. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry, 5, 222-230.
• Kacur, M., & Atak, M. (2011). Problem fields of university students and cope with the problems: Erciyes University sample [Article in Turkish]. Erciyes Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 31, 273-297.
• Kahn, B. E., & Isen, A. M. (1993). The influence of positive affect on variety seeking among safe, enjoyable products. Journal of Consumer Research, 20(2), 257-270.
• Koç, M., Avsaroğlu, S., & Sezer, A. (2004). Üniversite öğrencilerinin akademik basarıları ile problem alanları arasındaki ilişki [Article in Turkish]. Selçuk Üniversitei Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 11, 483-498.
• Levett-Jones, T., Lathlean, J., Maguire, J., & McMillan, M. (2007). Belongingness: A critique of the concept and implications for nursing education. Nurse Education Today, 27(3), 210-218.
• Lyubomirsky, S., & Layous, K. (2013). How do simple positive activities increase well-being? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22, 57-62.
• Malone, G. P., Pillow, D. R., & Osman, A. (2012). The general belongingness scale (GBS): Assessing achieved belongingness. Personality and Individual differences, 52(3), 311-316.
• Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation on personality (2nd ed.). New York: Harper and Row.
• Newman, B. M., Lohman, B. J., & Newman, P. R. (2007). Peer group membership and a sense of belonging: their relationship to adolescent behavior problems. Adolescence, 42(166), 241-263.
• Nixon, R. E. (1961). An approach to the dynamics of growth in adolescence. Psychiatry, 24(1), 18-31.
• Osterman, K. F. (2000). Students' need for belonging in the school community. Review of Educational Research, 70(3), 323-367.
• Pardeck, J. T. (1988). An ecological approach for social work practice. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 15, 133-142.
• Pedrelli, P., Nyer, M., Yeung, A., Zulauf, C., & Wilens, T. (2015). College students: mental health problems and treatment considerations. Academic Psychiatry, 39(5), 503-511.
• Perrine, R. M., & Lisle, J. (1995). Effects of a syllabus offer of help, student age, and class size on college students’ willingness to seek support from faculty. Journal of Experimental Education, 64, 41-53.
• Peterson, C. (2000). The future of optimism. American Psychologist, 55, 44–55.
• Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.
• Townsend, K. C., & McWhirter, B. T. (2005). Connectedness: A review of the literature with implications for counseling, assessment, and research. Journal of Counseling and Development, 83(2), 191-201.
• Vazquez, C. (2017). What does positivity add to psychopathology? An introduction to the special issue on ‘positive emotions and cognitions in clinical psychology’. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41(3), 325-334.
• Walsh, R. M., & Forest, A. L. (2021). Can expressing positivity elicit support for negative events? A process model and review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25(1), 3-40.
• Yıldırım, M., & Güler, A. (2021). Positivity explains how COVID-19 perceived risk increases death distress and reduces happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 168, 110347.
• Yorgason, J. B., Linville, D., & Zitzman, B. (2008). Mental health among college students: do those who need services know about and use them?. Journal of American College Health, 57(2), 173-182.