This study was a qualitative narrative on the advantages experienced by Generation Z students who participated in leadership roles within university-sponsored student organizations. This study incorporated generational, coping, and transactional theories to help the researcher establish a potential link between the mental well-being of students and their participation in cocurricular university-sponsored groups. The primary goal of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how students perceived the influence of their participation in student organizations on their ability to handle mental well-being issues. It sought to explore whether factors such as time commitment, skill development, or an increased sense of belonging had an impact on how students managed and coped with these challenges. The findings of this study indicated three emerging themes regarding the well-being of student leaders involved in student organizations: (a) Student engagement with student organizations primarily results in feelings of support and an enhanced sense of community, (b) Lived experiences result in change of behavior and the implementation of coping strategies and learned behaviors, and (c) Challenges that negatively impact student well-being are primarily due to the internal pressure students place on themselves and the external pressure perceived by others.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study was a qualitative narrative on the advantages experienced by Generation Z students who participated in leadership roles within university-sponsored student organizations. This study incorporated generational, coping, and transactional theories to help the researcher establish a potential link between the mental well-being of students and their participation in cocurricular university-sponsored groups. The primary goal of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how students perceived the influence of their participation in student organizations on their ability to handle mental well-being issues. It sought to explore whether factors such as time commitment, skill development, or an increased sense of belonging had an impact on how students managed and coped with these challenges. The findings of this study indicated three emerging themes regarding the well-being of student leaders involved in student organizations: (a) Student engagement with student organizations primarily results in feelings of support and an enhanced sense of community, (b) Lived experiences result in change of behavior and the implementation of coping strategies and learned behaviors, and (c) Challenges that negatively impact student well-being are primarily due to the internal pressure students place on themselves and the external pressure perceived by others.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Folsom, Lacey"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Secondary Education and Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Summer Pannell, Ph.D.","Brian Uriegas, Ed.D.","Chrissy Cross, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z","subjects":["Educational Leadership","Mental Well-being","Generation Z","Coping Methods","Higher Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/561","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Summer Pannell, Ph.D.","Brian Uriegas, Ed.D.","Chrissy Cross, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Folsom, Lacey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-07-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Secondary Education and Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Educational Leadership","Mental Well-being","Generation Z","Coping Methods","Higher Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/561"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study was a qualitative narrative on the advantages experienced by Generation Z students who participated in leadership roles within university-sponsored student organizations. This study incorporated generational, coping, and transactional theories to help the researcher establish a potential link between the mental well-being of students and their participation in cocurricular university-sponsored groups. The primary goal of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how students perceived the influence of their participation in student organizations on their ability to handle mental well-being issues. It sought to explore whether factors such as time commitment, skill development, or an increased sense of belonging had an impact on how students managed and coped with these challenges. The findings of this study indicated three emerging themes regarding the well-being of student leaders involved in student organizations: (a) Student engagement with student organizations primarily results in feelings of support and an enhanced sense of community, (b) Lived experiences result in change of behavior and the implementation of coping strategies and learned behaviors, and (c) Challenges that negatively impact student well-being are primarily due to the internal pressure students place on themselves and the external pressure perceived by others.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Qualitative Narrative Study about Mental Well-Being and Coping Strategies in Generation-Z Undergraduate Student Leaders"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Summer Pannell, Ph.D.","Brian Uriegas, Ed.D.","Chrissy Cross, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Folsom, Lacey"],"dc:date.available":["2024-07-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study was a qualitative narrative on the advantages experienced by Generation Z students who participated in leadership roles within university-sponsored student organizations. This study incorporated generational, coping, and transactional theories to help the researcher establish a potential link between the mental well-being of students and their participation in cocurricular university-sponsored groups. The primary goal of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how students perceived the influence of their participation in student organizations on their ability to handle mental well-being issues. It sought to explore whether factors such as time commitment, skill development, or an increased sense of belonging had an impact on how students managed and coped with these challenges. The findings of this study indicated three emerging themes regarding the well-being of student leaders involved in student organizations: (a) Student engagement with student organizations primarily results in feelings of support and an enhanced sense of community, (b) Lived experiences result in change of behavior and the implementation of coping strategies and learned behaviors, and (c) Challenges that negatively impact student well-being are primarily due to the internal pressure students place on themselves and the external pressure perceived by others.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/561"],"dc:subject":["Educational Leadership","Mental Well-being","Generation Z","Coping Methods","Higher Education"],"dc:title":["A Qualitative Narrative Study about Mental Well-Being and Coping Strategies in Generation-Z Undergraduate Student Leaders"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Secondary Education and Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z"}