A Qualitative Narrative Study about Mental Well-Being and Coping Strategies in Generation-Z Undergraduate Student Leaders

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Secondary Education and Educational Leadership

Year dc:date.available

2024

Author dc:creator

• Folsom, Lacey

Contributors dc:contributor

• Summer Pannell, Ph.D.
• Brian Uriegas, Ed.D.
• Chrissy Cross, Ph.D.

• Educational Leadership
• Mental Well-being
• Generation Z
• Coping Methods
• Higher Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/561

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1606