L. Kiltz, MSc

Student well-being and the learning environment

University students seem to face higher psychological distress compared to their non-studying counterparts. They show more mental health issues and seem to be prone to react to academic stressors due to their young age and vulnerability. But what about the other side of the coin? Positive psychology, in contrast to past research, focuses on these students who manage their studies without encountering psychological troubles. What turns the general university student into a resilient one?

The Ph.D. project will concentrate on exactly that. We will target students’ well-being with the overall aim to enhance their resilience. This has already been done before in research by focusing on personality traits and how students themselves can learn how to be more resilient. We, however, want to focus on the learning environment and how an adjustment of the very same can lead to enhanced resilience in university students.