Protective Factors for Resilience, Stress and Depression among College-Going Students

Protective Factors for Resilience (PFR) play a significant role in promoting psychological well-being and reducing mental health difficulties among young adults. College-going students are particularly vulnerable to stress and depression due to academic, social, and developmental challenges. Understanding the influence of resilience-related factors on mental health outcomes is therefore essential. The current study aimed to assess the levels of Protective Factors for Resilience (PFR), stress, and depression among college-going students and to examine whether PFR significantly predicts stress and depression. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was employed among 515 college-going students. Data were collected using standardized measures assessing stress, depression, and Protective Factors for Resilience. Descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, and simple linear regression analyses were conducted to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the majority of participants were female (95.5%) and aged between 18–20 years (50.5%). Nearly half of the participants demonstrated average levels of PFR (48.7%), while 28.2% reported high Protective Factors for Resilience (PFR) levels. Moderate to severe levels of stress and depression were observed among a substantial proportion of students. The mean scores for stress, depression, and Protective Factors for Resilience (PFR) were 17.67 (SD = 9.39), 17.70 (SD = 10.57), and 72.72 (SD = 22.03), respectively. Regression analysis indicated that Protective Factors for Resilience significantly and negatively predicted stress, F (1, 513) = 7.75, p = .006, accounting for 1.5% of the variance in stress scores (R² = .015). Similarly, PFR significantly and negatively predicted depression, F(1, 513) = 5.49, p = .019, explaining 1.1% of the variance in depression scores (R² = .011). Higher protective Factors for resilience (PFR) scores were associated with lower stress and depression levels. The study highlights the protective role of resilience factors in reducing stress and depression among college-going students. Although the predictive strength was small, the findings emphasize the importance of enhancing resilience-building interventions and psychological support programs within educational settings to promote students’ mental well-being.