Differential associations among psychological flexibility components, depressive symptoms, and sense of belonging in first semester college students.

Abstract<bold>Objective.</bold> The transition to college is associated with rising rates of depressive symptoms and decreased well-being. It is critical to identify protective psychological factors for this period. One possible protective factor is psychological flexibility, or the ability to pursue self-identified values despite distressing thoughts and emotions. This study examined associations among psychological flexibility components and well-being outcomes in first semester college students. <bold>Participants:</bold> The sample consisted of 238 diverse first-semester college students recruited from five universities. <bold>Method:</bold> Using structural equation modeling, we examined associations among three components of psychological flexibility and two dimensions of well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms and sense of belonging at college). <bold>Results:</bold> All three psychological flexibility components were associated with less severe depressive symptoms, but only <italic>valued action</italic> was associated with higher sense of belonging. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> Results highlight psychological flexibility as a novel set of resilience factors with differential associations with key outcomes during the transition to college. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]