Showing 2 results for University Students
Leila Ebrahimi Varzaneh, Fatemeh Nemati Sogolitappeh, Pariya Faramarzyan,
Volume 25, Issue 97 (5-2026)
Abstract
Aim: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived social support and academic anxiety in students, and the mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation in this relationship. Focusing on both interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms, the study sought to clarify how perceived support from family, friends, and teachers can reduce exam- and entrance-test-related anxiety by enhancing students’ emotion regulation capacities. Methods: This correlational study used a multistage cluster sampling method with 210 senior high school and pre-university students in Isfahan. Data were analyzed using multiple regression in SPSS after obtaining informed consent and ensuring confidentiality. Instruments included the Sarason Test Anxiety Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the short version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, all with established reliability and validity. Findings: Findings indicated that perceived social support had a significant negative direct effect on difficulties in emotion regulation, while difficulties in emotion regulation had a significant positive direct effect on academic anxiety. Bootstrap analysis showed a significant indirect effect of perceived social support on academic anxiety through difficulties in emotion regulation, confirming its mediating role. Conclusion: Results suggest that perceived social support is associated with reduced difficulties in emotion regulation and lower academic anxiety, with part of its effect operating through improved emotion regulation skills. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening supportive networks and teaching emotion regulation strategies in educational and psychological interventions to sustainably reduce students’ academic anxiety.
Marieh Abdolghaderi,
Volume 25, Issue 98 (9-2026)
Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to explore the cycle of hope and hopelessness and the fluctuating experiences of suicidal ideation among university students over the course of an academic semester amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States. Specifically, it sought to understand the dynamic and context-dependent nature of suicidal ideation in relation to individual stressors, university-related factors, and broader sociopolitical crises. ▌Methods: This qualitative study employed a descriptive phenomenological approach. Eleven university students who had experienced fluctuations in suicidal ideation during an academic semester coinciding with escalating Iran–U.S. tensions were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological method. The analysis focused on identifying the fundamental structure of participants’ lived experiences rather than achieving statistical generalization. ▌Findings: Seven major themes emerged from the analysis: erosion of the sense of security and stability; accumulation and layering of psychological distress; cyclical fluctuations between hope and hopelessness; suicidal ideation as a language of helplessness and a desire for relief; political crisis as an amplifier and qualitative modifier of distress; protective factors and the reconstruction of hope; and existential reappraisal and meaning-making. The findings indicated that suicidal ideation was not experienced as a static phenomenon, but rather as a fluctuating and cyclical experience shaped by the interaction of individual stressors, academic pressures, and broader sociopolitical threats. ▌Conclusions: Suicidal ideation among university students may fluctuate substantially over time and should be understood within the broader context in which students live and study. The findings highlight the need for university-based screening and intervention systems to move beyond one-time, cross-sectional assessments toward temporally informed, context-sensitive, and multilevel approaches. Clinical interventions should also extend beyond symptom-based assessment by attending to experiences of entrapment, monitoring fluctuations in risk over time, and facilitating the reconstruction of meaning and sources of hope among university students.
