Self-focused and other-focused resiliency: Plausible mechanisms linking early family adversity to health problems in college women.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined whether self-focused and other-focused resiliency help explain how early family adversity relates to perceived stress, subjective health, and health behaviors in college women.


METHODS
Female students (N = 795) participated between October 2009 and May 2010.


METHODS
Participants completed self-report measures of early family adversity, self-focused (self-esteem, personal growth initiative) and other-focused (perceived social support, gratitude) resiliency, stress, subjective health, and health behaviors.


RESULTS
Using structural equation modeling, self-focused resiliency associated with less stress, better subjective health, more sleep, less smoking, and less weekend alcohol consumption. Other-focused resiliency associated with more exercise, greater stress, and more weekend alcohol consumption. Early family adversity was indirectly related to all health outcomes, except smoking, via self-focused and other-focused resiliency.


CONCLUSIONS
Self-focused and other-focused resiliency represent plausible mechanisms through which early family adversity relates to stress and health in college women. This highlights areas for future research in disease prevention and management.
a Department of Biobehavioral Health , The Pennsylvania State University , University Park , Pennsylvania.
Sulamunn R M
SR
Coleman
b Department of Psychological Sciences , University of California , Merced , Merced , California.
Matthew J
MJ
Zawadzki
c Department of Psychology , Old Dominion University , Norfolk , Virginia.
Kristin E
KE
Heron
d School of Psychology , University of New South Wales , Sydney , Australia.
Lenny R
LR
Vartanian
a Department of Biobehavioral Health , The Pennsylvania State University , University Park , Pennsylvania.
Joshua M
JM
Smyth
D000067292:Alcohol Drinking in College / Q000523:psychology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult
College women's health; early family adversity; health behavior; perceived stress; psychosocial resiliency; subjective health