Exploring the Connection Between Happiness, Resilience, and Death Anxiety in College Students With and Without Psychological Distress

Increase in the level of stressors during COVID-19 had challenged mental health across all ages. The most affected were the youth who had been isolated and cut off from all the richness of experience which was due to them. In this scenario, the study attempts to investigate the association between Happiness, Resilience, and Death Anxiety in College Students. Data was collected from 70 college students grouped into Psychiatric Morbidity High Risk group (n = 42) and Psychiatric Morbidity Low Risk group (n = 28). The sample was grouped using General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg 1978), a screening instrument for psychological morbidity. Data was collected through Google form by administering a detailed information schedule, death anxiety scale (Templer‚ D. I.) (1970), resilience appraisal scale (Johnson et al., 2008), and subjective happiness scale (Lyubomirsky, S. & Lepper, H. S.) (1999). Statistical analysis of data was done using SPSS. Descriptive Statistics, t-test, correlation, and regression were computed from the data. Results showed significant differences between Psychiatric Morbidity High Risk Group and Psychiatric Morbidity Low Risk Group with respect to emotional coping, situational coping, and happiness. Low risk group were found to be happier than the high risk group and were more effective in the use of emotional and situational coping mechanisms.