Resilience, Dispositional Hope, and Psychological Well-Being Among College Students: A Systematic Review

Mental health problems are a typical occurrence for college students. Resilience and dispositional hope are crucial in positive psychology and constitute essential psychological capital that collectively promotes psychological well-being. However, limited evidence exists regarding the interplay of resilience, dispositional hope, and psychological well-being across diverse cultures and countries.

This study aims to synthesize evidence on how resilience, dispositional hope, and psychological well-being interplay across different cultures among college students.

Six databases were searched comprehensively, adhering to PRISMA guidelines. Initially, 122 articles were identified, with 26 duplicates removed, leaving 96 papers for further evaluation. Subsequently, two separate reviewers evaluated the titles and abstracts of these papers using predefined inclusion criteria, identifying 39 articles for detailed full-text review. Among these, 9 studies were extracted and subjected to rigorous quality assessment.

The article highlights hope and resilience's protective role against stress, anxiety, depression, and academic burnout. Psychological strengths such as resilience and hope significantly enhance well-being. Cultivating these constructs alongside coping strategies and support systems is vital for flourishing among college students.

This systematic review is the first to comprehensively summarize evidence regarding the interplay between college students' psychological well-being, dispositional hope, and resilience. Future research should employ diverse methods for a nuanced understanding, focusing on cross-cultural comparisons.