Resilience Factors in Students Presenting Depressive Symptoms during the Post-secondary School Transition

Depression constitutes an important predicting factor of school dropout. The post-secondary transition represents a vulnerability period for at-risk students. The goal of this study was to identify resilience factors of depression in a sample of 389 young adults. Self-reported measures (personal, family, social and school-related) were completed. A subgroup of resilience students, who did not report depressive symptoms although they experienced low family support, was compared with a subgroup of depressive students. Results of khi 2 analyses and multiple linear regression analysis revealed that four variables characterized the subgroup of resilience students (N=42). The presence of personal goals was associated with the higher Beta value, followed by low level of dysfunctional attitudes, good emotional adjustment to college, and professional goals.