Relationship between demoralization of the college student with their individual- and social-oriented self

Abstract

Demoralization has become increasingly prevalent among college students who have lost motivation in life and feel hopeless about their future. Many college students who demonstrate symptoms of demoralization are neglected because they might fail to typical symptoms of depression. Taiwanese college students are simultaneously influenced by bicultural-self system, such as individual- and social-oriented views of self, which vary considerably in the view of self, achievement motivation, and the value of self-realization, and may even create contradictory expectations and behavioral standard. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of the relationship between attitude towards demoralization, individual- and social-oriented views of self. Three-hundred fifty-six college students completed the online questionnaire, which was designed to explore their demoralization status and cultural differences. Four groups were divided into bicultural self, individual-oriented self, social-oriented self, and unintegrated self. Bicultural group demonstrated significantly lower demoralization overall scores than other groups. Moreover, the five dimensions of demoralization in college students were mostly significantly and negatively correlated with individual- and social-oriented views of self, indicating that college students’ bicultural views of self may contribute to or prevent demoralization.

Strengthening the meaning in life among college students: the role of self-acceptance and social support - evidence from a network analysis

“…Meaning in life is an important yet declined mental resource for the well-being and comprehensive development of college students ( Huang et al, 2022 ; Olstad et al, 2023 ). Self-acceptance and social support may serve as two possible sources from which college students may attain more meaning in life ( King and Hicks, 2021 ).…”

“…Indeed, the loss of meaning in life may result in failures in completing developmental tasks, which could manifest as adaptation problems, increased mental problems including depression, anxiety and social media addiction, as well as worsened academic performance, greatly hindering the self-fulfillment and overall well-being of college students ( Cho, 2021 ; Ye et al, 2021 ; Baquero-Tomás et al, 2023 ; Guo Y. G. et al, 2023 ; Zhao, 2023 ). Alarmingly, it has raised much attention that the loss of meaning in life, or the so-called “hollow-heart disease” is becoming increasingly prevalent among Chinese college students ( Huang et al, 2022 ). Therefore, it is of great necessity to identify effective ways to assist college students exhibit and maintain meaning in life.…”