Before vs. During the COVID-19 Pandemic and First vs. Continuing Generation College Students: Perseverative Negative Thinking and Mindful Nonjudging Differentially Mediated the Threat-Anxiety Relationship

Presenter: Cristina L. Rodriguez

Faculty Sponsor: Champika Soysa

School: Worcester State University

Research Area: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

Session: Poster Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM, 163, C8

ABSTRACT

Previous research established a relationship between person-environment interactions and emotional states (Turner, 2022). During the COVID-19 Pandemic, mental distress in college-aged individuals was higher than in the general adult population (Jia et al., 2021). Tungtong et al. (2023) established associations between dispositional threat appraisal, perseverative negative thinking, and mindfulness, in relation to negative affect. However, these interrelationships have not been studied together among undergraduates using either the COVID-19 Pandemic as a point of reference or by comparing first and continuing-generation college students (FGCS; CGCS). This study hypothesized that perseverative negative thinking (PNT) and mindful nonjudging (MNJ) differentially account for (mediate) the relationship between dispositional threat appraisal and anxiety symptom severity, 1) before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and 2) in FGCS and CGCS, in N=499 undergraduates (pre-COVID-19 n=233; during COVID-19 FGCS=44%), using online survey software. PNT and MNJ fully accounted for the relationship between dispositional threat appraisal and anxiety symptom severity before the COVID-19 Pandemic, but only partially during the pandemic, and in both FGCS and CGCS. These effects of PNT and MNJ were stronger during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic, supporting hypothesis one. Only MNJ was stronger in CGCS compared to FGCS, partially supporting hypothesis two. In all instances except pre-COVID-19 Pandemic, dispositional threat appraisal was significantly associated with anxiety symptom severity, after accounting for PNT and MNJ. These findings suggested that targeted clinical interventions that increase MNJ and lower PNT could decrease anxiety symptom severity in college students.

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