MENTAL HEALTH IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: PREDICTIVE ROLE OF GROWTH AND SELF-PROTECTION VALUES

Abstract

Early adulthood is a developmental stage during which several mental health issues are noted. The same time in the context of multiple life options offered by the modern world and no clear evaluation criteria, early adults value hierarchy is especially valuable area of research. In the light of research on association between values and subjective well-being, the relationship between values and mental health still needs to be established. The aim of the study was to transfer Schwartz value theory to health psychology area and verify whether Growth values and Self-Protection values correlate with and predict mental health in depression, anxiety and resilience in polish population of early adults. Participants completed Portrait Value Questionnaire PVQ40, General Health Questionnaire GHQ-12 and Brief Resilience Scale BRS. The univariate and multivariate linear regression were employed in order to verify hypothesis. Results indicate that the Growth values and the Self-Protection values predict mental health in early adulthood. Conformity increases depression and decreases resilience, Self-Direction decreases depression and increases resilience, Tradition increases depression, while Achievement and Stimulation increase resilience. In the light of given results, Self-Direction and Conformity presents the greatest relation to mental health in both positive and negative aspects. Discussion, study limitations, and suggestions for further research were stated. ( F (1,110) = 4.23. p < .01, R = .32) Conformity (β = .114, p > .05), Tradition (β = .172, p > .05), and Self-Direction (β = -.203, p < .05), predict 10.5% of Depression. Given results indicate that out of personal values Self-Direction predicts Depression to the greatest extent. The same time Self-Direction seems to perform potential protective factor function. Security, Power, Achievement, Hedonism, Stimulation, Universalism and Benevolence do not significantly predict Depression. Anxiety. The results of univariate regression indicate that none of the values: Conformity, Tradition, Security, Power, Achievement, Hedonism, Stimulation, SelfDirection, Universalism, Benevolence predict Anxiety level. values Conformity F (1,110) = p .01, β = -.238), Achievement ( F (1,110) = 6.609, p < .01, β = .238 ), Stimulation ( F (1,110) = 5.329, p < .05, β = .215) and Self-Direction ( F (1,110) = 7.477, p < .01, β = .252). Predictive Power of these individual values remains weak as each: Conformity, Achievement and Self-Direction predicts 6% while Stimulation predicts 5% of Resilience. The higher Conformity, the lower Resilience. Conversely, the higher Achievement, Stimulation and Self-Direction, the higher Resilience. In multivariate linear regression ( F (4,107) = 5.048, p ≤ .001, R = .40) Conformity (β = -.264, p < .01), Achievement (β = .227, p < .05), Self-Direction (β = .156, p > .05) and Stimulation (β = .012, p > .05) predict 16% of Resilience. results Results indicate that the higher individually measured Growth values: SelfDirection, Achievement and Stimulation, the greater is resilience level. The same time the higher Self-Protection value: Conformity, the lower is resilience in early adults. Thus hypothesis has been confirmed. Given results are consistent with previous findings on Self-Direction as a predictor of resilience (Maercker, Zhang, Gao, Kochetkov, Lu, Sang, Yang, Schneider & Margraf, 2015). Out of significant values, Conformity seems to perform potential risk factor function and Achievement seems to perform the greatest protective factor function.