Psychological Distress and Well-Being Across the Transition From Study to Work: The Predictive Role of Students' Personal Resources and Demands

Abstract

Transitioning from study to work can be stressful and challenging. Little is known about the influence of students' personal aspects on their mental health during this transition. In the current two-wave longitudinal study, we integrate the transactional model of stress and coping and the job demands-resources theory to investigate whether students' personal resources (i.e., optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience) and personal demands (i.e., irrational performance demands, awfulizing, and irrational need for control) predict perceived levels of job resources (i.e., feedback, social support, and developmental opportunities) and job demands (i.e., emotional demands, workload, and work-home interference) after graduation, as well as work engagement, depression, and anxiety. Graduate students (N = 175) were followed across the transition from study to work (1-4 years). Results showed that students' personal resources (Time 1) positively predicted the perception of job resources over time (Time 2 [T2]) and indirectly predicted work engagement (T2; positive) and depression and anxiety (T2; both negative). Moreover, students' personal demands (Time 1) positively predicted the perception of job demands over time (T2). However, students' personal demands (Time 1) did not directly nor indirectly predict levels of anxiety and depression (T2). Our results suggest that developing students' personal resources may be important for promoting a healthier and more engaged workforce. In addition, reducing students' personal demands may help to lower perceived work-related demands in their future work.