Trajectories of depression and anxiety symptoms over time in the transition to university: Their co-occurrence and the role of self-critical perfectionism.

Little is known about how mental health symptoms develop during the transition to university. Most anxiety and depression research fails to consider how symptom development differs over time across different individuals, and how symptom co-occurrence influences the severity of mental health problems. Students (N = 658) completed online surveys on mental health prior to starting university and every 2 months until April. To better understand mental health problems during this transitional period, latent class growth curve analyses were run to determine how anxiety and depressive symptoms co-develop over time, as well, if self-critical perfectionism was a transdiagnostic risk factor for more severe symptom trajectories in this transition. About 40% of students experienced depression and anxiety symptoms prior to entering/during the transition to university. There is substantial variation between students in terms of how they experience depression and anxiety symptoms, and research needs to take this heterogeneity into account to properly identify which students might benefit most from resources. Self-critical perfectionism was a transdiagnostic risk factor, such that students higher in this trait experienced more severe anxiety and depressive symptom trajectories during this transition. This research further implicates the importance of understanding and studying individual differences in symptom development.

Rewriting the script: How COVID-19 affected the relation between intrinsic aspirations and depressive symptoms.

Self-determination theory proposes that intrinsic aspirations protect against negative mental health outcomes by satisfying people's basic psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence. The present study investigated this relationship using two four-wave prospective longitudinal studies which followed undergraduate students across the Canadian academic calendar (September to May). The first was conducted across 2018-19 and the second across 2019-20. By comparing these two samples, we examined whether baseline levels of intrinsic aspirations moderated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of depressive symptoms. Three main findings emerged, the first being that students reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in Spring 2020 than in Spring 2019. Second, students with more intrinsic aspirations in the pre-pandemic sample (2018-19) experienced fewer depressive symptoms from December to May while students with more intrinsic aspirations in the pandemic sample (2019-20) experienced more depressive symptoms during this period. Lastly, the latter relationship was mediated by need frustration, whereby students with higher levels of intrinsic aspirations experienced greater need frustration during the pandemic year. Together, these findings suggest that although intrinsic aspirations typically protect against negative psychological outcomes, the unique need frustrating context of the pandemic made them a risk factor for depression.

A not so perfect plan: An examination of the differential influence of multidimensional perfectionism on missed and gained events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals missed out on important life events, but it was also a chance for some to engage with new interests or values. This research examined how individuals higher in perfectionism experienced missed and gained events during the pandemic, and how their perceptions of these events influenced their mental health. University students (N = 350) were surveyed in September 2020, assessing perfectionism, depression, missed/gained events, and need satisfaction related to these events, and then followed up in December. A combined missed and gained event score was created to better understand overall need satisfaction from these changes. Individuals higher in self-critical perfectionism were more likely to experience need dissatisfaction overall and this partially explained why these individuals experienced more depressive symptoms over time during the pandemic. Conversely, those higher in personal standards perfectionism experienced more need satisfaction overall and this was related to reduced depressive symptoms. Results suggest that individuals higher in self-critical perfectionism were less flexible when things did not go according to their plan. This may be one reason these individuals had a more difficult time coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The role of goal-related autonomy: A self-determination theory analysis of perfectionism, poor goal progress, and depressive symptoms.

Adopting a self-determination theory perspective, this 3-wave longitudinal study explores the role of perfectionism in goal pursuit and the experience of depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the role of goal-related autonomy in mediating the opposite effects of self-critical and personal standards perfectionism on goal progress and depressive symptoms over the course of an academic year. The results suggest a way of understanding the pathway to depressive symptoms and poor goal progress in perfectionists. They point to a number of implications for clinical practice when working with self-critical perfectionists. Specifically, they indicate that interventions aimed at promoting autonomous motivation, may not only bolster goal progress but also act as a protective factor against depressive symptoms. Together, the results indicate that autonomous motivation is central to goal progress and suggest that low goal-related autonomy can be linked to negative outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Zooming their way through university: Which Big 5 traits facilitated students' adjustment to online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many students struggled with the abrupt transition to online classes required by the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research used a self-determination theory framework to examine the role of the Big 5 personality traits in university students' adaptation to online learning, measured by their quality of motivation, subjective well-being, self-efficacy, online engagement, and online satisfaction. A longitudinal study was conducted across the 2020 fall semester and included a total of 350 university students who answered surveys in September and December. Results showed that conscientiousness and openness to experience were associated with higher self-efficacy and with different forms of autonomous motivation for online learning. Conscientiousness was related to identified motivation, whereas openness to experience was related to intrinsic motivation. In contrast, neuroticism was related to increases in controlled motivation. Only openness to experience was strongly related to engagement with online learning and higher levels of subjective well-being. These findings suggest that openness to experience may be an adaptive trait for students' transition to online classes during these times of uncertainty.

Agreeableness and Conscientiousness promote successful adaptation to the Covid-19 pandemic through effective internalization of public health guidelines.

Social distancing (SD) was an effective way of reducing virus transmission during the deadly and highly infectious COVID-19 pandemic. Using a prospective longitudinal design, the present study explored how the Big 5 traits relate to variations in SD in a sample of university students (n = 285), and replicated these findings using informant reports. Self-determination theory's concepts of autonomous motivation and intrinsic community values were explored as potential mechanisms linking traits to SD. Individuals who were higher on trait agreeableness and conscientiousness engaged in more SD because they more effectively internalized the importance and value of the guidelines as a function of their concerns about the welfare of their communities. Informant reports confirmed trait agreeableness and conscientiousness to be associated with more SD. These results enhance our understanding of individual differences associated with better internalization and adherence to public health guidelines and can inform future interventions in similar crises.

Unhappy or unsatisfied: distinguishing the role of negative affect and need frustration in depressive symptoms over the academic year and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health problems are becoming increasingly prevalent across college campuses. Past research has found that negative affect and frustration of basic psychological needs contribute to the development of depressive symptoms, but there is limited research which compares whether these are antecedents or concomitants of depressive symptoms. The present set of studies aimed to distinguish the differential associations of affect and need frustration on depressive symptoms. Students (Nstudy1 = 379; Nstudy2 = 235) completed measures on negative affect, need frustration (e.g., relatedness, competence, and autonomy), and depressive symptoms over an academic year and during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In both samples, fully cross-lagged path models were used to examine the relation between need frustration, negative affect, and depressive symptoms over time. Across both studies, basic psychological need frustration was the only consistent predictor of both negative affect and depressive symptoms over time, suggesting that need frustration is an antecedent of depressive symptoms over time, and especially during vulnerable time periods. Additionally, in Study 2, reports from close others confirm that need frustration is the largest indicator of depressive presentation in students. These results highlight the relative importance of basic psychological need frustration in predicting depressive symptoms in university students.