The role of personal health resources in university studies and working life

Goals

Chronic stress is considered a significant risk factor for the development of so-called non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and mental disorders, which are now responsible for the majority of the disease burden in Germany and throughout Europe. How can it be possible to stay healthy in the long term despite psychological stress in studies and working life, which is associated with chronic stress?

Implementation

In the present project, a resource-oriented perspective is adopted in dealing with this question. Based on a transactional framework model, it is first theoretically presented how the three personal health resources - general self-efficacy, tolerance for uncertainty and mindfulness - can reduce stress and negative psychological stress, promote constructive coping and thus contribute to better health in the long term. Using the example of teaching, the current state of research on psychological stress in studies and working life is presented, making it clear that so far only a few studies have taken a resource-oriented perspective. Our own empirical study (quantitative online survey of N = 779 teacher training students) helps to close this gap.

Contact person

Dr. Jana Bauer
Email: jana.bauaer@uni-koeln.de