Self-Reliance and Relations with Parents as Predictors of Anxiety and Depression in College Students

The transition to college can be stressful for young adults. Researchers have investigated factors related to students’ mental health as they adjust to college life. The current study examined the relative contributions of measures of self-reliance and parent relations to the prediction of anxiety and depression in college students. A sample of 153 college students enrolled in introductory psychology courses at a southeastern university completed the self-reliance and parent relations scales of the BASC-2 SRP-COL, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Hamilton Depression Inventory (HDI). Multiple regression analyses indicated that self-reliance and parent relations were significant predictors of anxiety and depression with self-reliance scores making a greater contribution to the prediction of each of the outcome variables.