Adolescents’ perceived security in relationships with parents and peers relates to psychosocial adjustment, yet the psychometric performance of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) has not been examined in Greece. This study evaluated the Greek IPPA in a non-probability sample of 432 adolescents aged 12–16 years from five schools in Attica (Greece). Internal consistency, item-level analyses, floor and ceiling effects, and one-factor, two-factor, correlated three-factor, and bifactor models were examined using ordinal WLSMV estimation. Relations with Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores were assessed. Parent Total Security and Peer Total Security showed high internal consistency (α = 0.94 and 0.93, respectively; ω = 0.94 for both). The correlated three-factor model showed acceptable fit for the parent form and weaker fit for the peer form, while Trust and Communication were highly correlated in both forms. Bifactor indices indicated substantial general-factor saturation, although the specific Trust factors were poorly defined. Higher total security scores were associated with fewer psychosocial difficulties. Overall, the parent and peer total scores appear more defensible than the separate subscales for preliminary, group-level descriptive use in similar samples, whereas subscale interpretation, particularly distinctions between Trust and Communication, should remain cautious. These findings require independent replication and do not support individual clinical decision-making or the identification of attachment classifications, attachment disorders, or disorganization.
Background: Perceived social support is consistently associated with lower psychological distress among university students, but the strength of this association may vary. We examined whether help-seeking self-stigma modifies it. Methods: In a cross-sectional online survey, 507 Kuwait University students completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (SSOSH). Hierarchical linear regression tested the perceived support × self-stigma interaction, adjusting for age, sex, nationality and year of study; SSOSH structure was examined by confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Of 507 eligible students (80.9% female; mean age = 21.4 years, SD = 4.4), 458 had complete PHQ-4 data. The inverse association between perceived support and distress weakened as self-stigma increased (B = 0.003, 95% CI 0.001–0.005, p = 0.007; p = 0.040 with heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors; ΔR2 = 0.015) and was not detectable at high self-stigma. The Arabic SSOSH was not unidimensional: positively and reverse-worded items formed uncorrelated factors (r = −0.01), and the interaction was carried by the reverse-worded items. Conclusions: Help-seeking self-stigma may index variation in this association, but the finding is exploratory and constrained by the measurement properties of the SSOSH in this population.
Maternal technoference has increasingly been recognized as a factor that may compromise mothers’ emotional availability and the quality of mother–child interactions, particularly during early childhood, when responsive caregiving and co-regulation play a pivotal role in children’s development. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain poorly understood. Maternal loneliness may represent an important vulnerability factor, although the processes linking loneliness to technoference have yet to be clarified. This study examined whether nomophobia and social media addiction mediate the association between maternal loneliness and technoference. This cross-sectional study included 355 Italian mothers of children aged 0–6 years, who completed measures of loneliness (UCLA 3-item Loneliness Scale), nomophobia (NMP-Q), social media addiction (BSMAS), and technoference (DISRUPT). A parallel mediation model was tested while controlling for maternal age. Loneliness was positively associated with both nomophobia and social media addiction, which were, in turn, positively associated with technoference. Both indirect effects were significant, whereas the direct association between loneliness and technoference was no longer significant. These findings suggest that maternal loneliness may be associated with technoference through its link with nomophobia and social media addiction, highlighting the importance of understanding technoference as a relational phenomenon rather than merely a consequence of technology use.
Post-COVID symptoms frequently include cognitive complaints, yet evidence on objectively measured cognitive performance in large samples of young adults remains limited. This study examined associations between self-reported post-COVID consequences and objective cognitive performance in university students, with particular attention to acute COVID-19 severity. The sample comprised 7482 students aged 17–23 years: 3945 reported no previous COVID-19, 1676 reported previous COVID-19 without post-COVID consequences, and 1861 reported previous COVID-19 with post-COVID consequences. Visuospatial working memory was assessed using the Corsi Block Tapping Test (CTB), and choice-response performance was assessed using accuracy and mean correct-response latency in a four-choice reaction time task. Analyses accounted for age, sex, and clustering by university; among previously infected participants, models additionally adjusted for perceived acute COVID-19 severity. The primary adjusted analyses included 7117 participants for CTB and 6361 participants for the cleaned choice-response accuracy and latency analyses. In the three-group analysis, students reporting post-COVID consequences had slightly lower CTB scores than those without previous COVID-19 (B = −0.146, 95% CI [−0.277, −0.015], p = 0.029), although the effect was small and was not fully robust in an ordinal sensitivity model (OR = 0.91, 95% CI [0.82, 1.00], p = 0.052). No reduction in choice-response accuracy or robust slowing of response latency was observed in the post-COVID consequence group. Among previously infected participants, post-COVID consequences were not significantly associated with CTB performance (B = −0.149, 95% CI [−0.311, 0.013], p = 0.071), choice-response accuracy (OR = 0.80, 95% CI [0.60, 1.07], p = 0.126), or response latency (−0.79%, 95% CI [−2.06%, 0.49%], p = 0.224) after adjustment for acute severity, age, and sex; none of these associations remained significant after false discovery rate correction. Acute COVID-19 severity was likewise not significantly associated with the cognitive outcomes. Overall, self-reported post-COVID consequences were associated with, at most, small and outcome-dependent differences in objective cognitive performance in this young university sample. The findings do not support a broad objective cognitive deficit associated with self-reported post-COVID consequences after accounting for acute disease severity and demographic factors.
Immunosuppressed patients have a substantially increased risk for developing skin cancer. Therefore, it is mandatory that such patients are adequately informed and aware of skin cancer and their increased risk to modify their behavior. Numerous studies have evaluated the topic, but no synthesis of their findings exists. The protocol of this systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024618851) and its reporting followed the PRISMA-2020 guideline. To identify all studies assessing knowledge or perception of skin cancer in immunosuppressed patients, forward and backward citation tracking was employed in addition to an electronic literature search across five databases. For the risk of bias (ROB) assessment, the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for prevalence studies was used. Quantitatively comparable outcomes were meta-analyzed, while all others were qualitatively synthesized. Thirty-two reports comprising 4214 patients were included. Acknowledging substantial heterogeneity between studies, just over two thirds of patients recalled having been informed about their increased skin cancer risk (pooled proportion: 68.34%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 55.48–78.90). Awareness of the increased risk for skin cancer varied widely (34.5–100%), and pooled mean Skin Cancer and Sun Knowledge scores were 14.77 (CI = 8.57–20.96). About half of those patients asked about risk factors for skin cancer knew that immunosuppression was among them. This indicates that immunosuppressed patients are insufficiently educated about their increased skin cancer risk. However, the high heterogeneity in the synthesized outcomes and the minimal proportion (3%) of low ROB ratings for the included studies call for further research to better understand the awareness of skin cancer risk in this vulnerable population.
In psychotherapy, case formulation can organize clinically relevant information into a coherent account of how psychological difficulties emerge, persist, and may change. The Personal Meaning System Fuzzy Cognitive Map (PMS-FCM) represents the client’s bipolar construct system as a weighted directed graph, whereas the FCM-FRHP (Fuzzy Cognitive Map of Human Problem Formation and Resolution) provides a professional functional reference model for problem formation and resolution. This paper proposes a semantically constrained method for identifying systemic archetype-inspired configurations in PMS-FCM representations enriched with FCM-FRHP semantics. Rather than importing classical systemic archetypes directly, the method reformulates them as configurable graph templates adapted to intrapersonal bipolar construct systems. Detection combines FCM-FRHP functional roles, predefined semantic-affinity rules and PB-based structural criteria, edge-weight thresholds, and ranking criteria. The goal is to support the traceable identification of static structures that may inform the examination of clinically relevant systemic hypotheses, without treating them as diagnoses or evidence of observed temporal dynamics. The pipeline combines property-graph querying, RDF/SHACL conformance checking, ranked materialization, and rule-based trace generation. A local language model is used only after detection and conformance checking, as a constrained graph-to-text layer grounded in graph evidence and FCM-FRHP semantics. The approach offers a formally specified and reproducible method for conducting explicit, auditable pattern-level analysis of psychological case formulations.
University students in diverse higher education contexts face concurrent risks: flourishing often below optimal levels alongside elevated depression and anxiety, though these are often addressed through generic, undifferentiated wellbeing provision. In diverse settings such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) universities, where international students constitute the majority of many student bodies, how campus activities relate to social belonging is both a wellbeing question and an equity issue. This study examined how extracurricular participation, sport (a subset of extracurricular participation), and exercise were associated with student wellbeing among 801 students across two UAE institutions. Extracurricular participation was associated with social belonging, which showed significant indirect associations with flourishing, depression, and anxiety, consistent across covariate adjustment and robustness checks. Exercise showed a similarly consistent direct association with flourishing; it was also associated with lower depression and anxiety in the primary model, though these associations were less robust than the flourishing finding and did not hold under further sensitivity checks. Sport showed a small association with stress mindset and anxiety, though this relies on a measure with low reliability and should be treated as tentative. Loneliness was not significantly associated with any engagement form. These findings point to a differentiated picture of campus engagement, in which extracurricular participation and exercise show the clearest links to wellbeing, while sport’s association with stress appraisal requires further evidence.
Young adults today are required to envision and plan for the future in a context marked by interconnected societal threats, such as climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and economic instability, giving rise to a condition of polycrisis. Understanding how these threats are perceived and their relationship with future-oriented psychological functioning is essential for promoting adaptive development during emerging adulthood. This study used a person-centered approach to identify different profiles of societal threat perception among university students and examine their links to social resources, future-oriented psychological resources, and well-being. The study involved a sample of 800 Italian university students. Latent profile analysis identified five distinct profiles. These profiles ranged from students who reported consistently low levels of perceived threat (Low Threat) to those characterized by elevated levels of threat across all domains (High Threat). Other profiles reflected specific concerns, such as heightened anxiety about climate change and war (Climate–War Concern), predominant financial threat concerns (Financially Focused Threat), and moderate threat perceptions combined with adaptive functioning (Moderate Threat). R3STEP analyses revealed that perceived social support and trust in institutions were significant predictors of profile membership. The lowest levels were observed among those with a High Threat profile. BCH analyses revealed significant differences in future orientation, meaning in life, and life satisfaction across profiles. Moderate Threat profile students reported the highest levels of future-oriented resources and well-being, whereas High Threat profile students reported the lowest. These findings suggest that university students differ in both the intensity of their societal threat perceptions and the configuration of these perceptions and their associated psychological resources. The results highlight the protective role of social and institutional resources, suggesting that adaptive functioning in times of global uncertainty depends less on the absence of concern and more on the capacity to maintain future-oriented psychological resources despite perceived threats.
The literature has shown that contextual and individual factors of an emotional and motivational nature are often associated with good academic performance and regular school attendance. The present study aimed to examine indirect associations involving Academic Procrastination and School Climate in the relationship between learning behavior patterns (MO-LH) and school success in a sample of 539 Italian secondary school students (Mage = 16.5). Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. The results showed that LH was positively associated with Academic Procrastination, whereas MO was negatively associated with it. Academic Procrastination was negatively associated with all dimensions of perceived School Climate (Teacher Support, Peer Connectedness, School Connectedness, Affirming Diversity, Rule Clarity, and Reporting and Seeking Help). School Achievement was positively associated with MO, School Connectedness, and Affirming Diversity, and negatively associated with Peer Connectedness. School Absence was negatively associated with MO. Mediation analyses suggested significant indirect associations between learning behavior patterns and school achievement, with Academic Procrastination and Affirming Diversity emerging as potential mediating variables. Findings highlight the importance of addressing emotional and motivational vulnerabilities and fostering a supportive school climate as potential factors associated with adaptive academic functioning and reduced maladaptive outcomes.
Background: Mental health disorders (MHDs) are an important concern among biomedical students, but estimates vary depending on whether studies assess confirmed diagnoses, perceived problems or current symptoms. This study assessed the presence of self-reported MHD history, operationalised as a heterogeneous combined outcome that included either a confirmed MHD diagnosis or a subjective perception of having or having had an MHD without official confirmation, and examined its associations with self-reported coping behaviours, resilience, study-related exhaustion and disengagement symptoms and healthy lifestyle adherence. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among students from Medicine, Dental Medicine and Pharmacy programmes. Of 936 eligible students, 520 completed the survey (55.6%). The survey assessed self-reported MHD history and coping behaviours, while standardised questionnaires measured resilience, exhaustion and disengagement symptoms and healthy lifestyle adherence. Analyses included descriptive statistics, group comparisons, Spearman correlations, false-discovery-rate correction for exploratory coping-behaviour analyses and age- and gender-adjusted logistic regression. Results: Overall, 159 students (30.6%) had self-reported MHD history present, including 32 (6.2%) with a confirmed diagnosis and 127 (24.4%) with a subjectively perceived MHD without official confirmation. Exhaustion/disengagement scores negatively correlated with resilience and lifestyle scores, while resilience positively correlated with lifestyle scores (all p < 0.001). In adjusted logistic regression, higher resilience (OR = 0.539, 95% CI = 0.389–0.747, p < 0.001) and lifestyle scores (OR = 0.951, 95% CI = 0.929–0.974, p < 0.001) were associated with lower odds of self-reported MHD history being present. Conclusions: Self-reported MHD history was common among respondents and was associated with lower resilience, poorer lifestyle adherence and higher study-related exhaustion and disengagement symptoms. Because the outcome was heterogeneous and the design was cross-sectional, findings should be interpreted as associations rather than clinically verified prevalence estimates or causal effects.
Background: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly integrated into real-world medical practice as chatbots for answering clinical queries. However, the perceptions of this technology among its end-users remain understudied. Existing research on physicians’ attitudes toward LLMs relies on non-validated questionnaires, raising concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the findings. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess physicians’ attitudes toward LLM-based chatbots used as a reference tool for answering queries. Methods: The instrument was based on the previously developed and validated ATRAI-14 questionnaire assessing radiologists’ attitudes toward artificial intelligence. Items for the new questionnaire were formulated and refined through focus group testing. Validation involved 562 physicians of various specialties working in medical institutions within the Moscow healthcare system. Some respondents had prior experience working with medical LLMs. We assessed face, content, construct, and criterion validity. Criterion validity was evaluated through correlation between respondents’ self-assessed attitudes toward LLMs measured by visual analogue scale (VAS), and construct validity through confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The resulting ATRAI-LLM questionnaire comprised 19 items (8 in the background part and 11 in the main part). The questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.770, McDonald’s ωt = 0.830). It encompasses three domains: “Willingness to Use”, “Implementation Perspective”, and “Hopes and Fears.” Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure, with satisfactory fit indices achieved (RMSEA = 0.05, CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.96, SRMR = 0.03). Criterion validity was confirmed as acceptable with moderate correlation between the final score and VAS scores (Spearman’s rho 0.68, p < 0.001). Conclusions: ATRAI-LLM is a validated instrument for assessing physicians’ attitudes toward LLMs as a knowledge base.
The general objective of this study is to test an integrative PLS-SEM model that simultaneously explains thesis quality and process efficiency among undergraduate students through the affective-motivational mediators of research self-efficacy and project management. Students who stall in the final stage of their degree rarely do so because they lack technical skill. More often, confidence erodes under sustained uncertainty, motivation shifts from intrinsic engagement to anxious compliance, and the demands of organizing months of research exceed what willpower alone can sustain. This study examines those emotional and motivational dynamics directly, treating research self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation not as background variables but as the affective-motivational core of thesis performance. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) grounded in self-determination theory and social cognitive theory, we tested an integrative model with data from 396 undergraduate students actively completing theses at public and private universities in the northern region of Peru. Four enabling factors—methodological competencies, intrinsic motivation, tutorial support, resources and conditions—were linked to thesis quality and process efficiency through two mediating mechanisms: research self-efficacy (the confidence to face methodological difficulty without retreating) and project management (the behavioral self-regulation that converts motivation into organized work). Resources and conditions showed the strongest associations in the model, with the largest effects on both project management (β = 0.533) and research self-efficacy (β = 0.418). Self-efficacy, in turn, showed the strongest association with thesis quality (β = 0.518), while project management and quality were jointly associated with process efficiency. The model explained 70.5% of variance in thesis quality and 81.4% in process efficiency. These patterns point to a concrete institutional lever: securing the material and temporal conditions that allow students to do the work, rather than attributing delays solely to failures of individual motivation. Because the design is cross-sectional and based on self-report, these relationships are interpreted as theory-consistent associations rather than causal effects.
(1) Background: Artificial intelligence tools have become integrated into undergraduate students from academic assignments to seek help with psychological concerns, particularly during the crises period. Scales measuring Artificial Intelligence-help-seeking behavior (AI-HSB) are still limited. This study aims to develop a new bilingual scale (Arabic and English) to assess AI-HSB by providing a reliable and useful tool for researchers worldwide. (2) Methods: We conducted a methodological cross-sectional design among 416 undergraduate students in United Arab Emirates (AUE) between the period of 1 October 2025 and 10 December 2025, using an online Google Form. The development, translation, validation, and reliability processes were conducted for the AI-HSB scale. (3) Results: It has been found that 13 items (two factors) are strong indications of factorial validity, reliability, and construct validity of AI-HSB scale. The two factors explained about 58% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor structure with all items loading above recommended thresholds and the goodness-of-fit indices of AI-HSB all exceeded 0.90. (4) Conclusions: The AI-HSB is a valid and reliable tool for assessing AI-based psychological help-seeking behavior among university students in the UAE. This scale will allow universities, counselors, and policymakers to use a well-validated scale to measure the extent to which students are using AI for psychological coping.
Peer conflict in early adolescence ranges from everyday disagreements to repeated aggression and bullying-related experiences. Bullying should not be reduced to physical violence: it may involve relational exclusion, psychological harassment, or verbal aggression without direct physical harm, whereas isolated aggressive acts do not necessarily constitute bullying. This study evaluated Reformulando, a school-based program that trains communication-based socio-emotional skills through pragmatic reformulation and respectful language. Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a non-equivalent control group, we assessed changes in conflict management strategies, peer aggression, and bullying-related experiences among students aged 10–13 years. Initial analyses suggested reductions in verbal peer aggression in the experimental group relative to the control group, although these effects were attenuated in age-adjusted and classroom-clustered sensitivity analyses. Collaborative conflict management increased over time, although this change did not differ significantly between groups. Bullying-related experiences decreased during the study period, but these reductions were not specific to the experimental group. This pattern emerged in the primary analyses but was attenuated in age-adjusted and cluster-adjusted sensitivity analyses. Findings suggest the potential value of brief communication-based training for addressing verbal peer conflict, while highlighting the need for cautious interpretation due to baseline group differences, grade-level imbalance, classroom clustering, and the quasi-experimental design.
Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increased exposure to stress and elevated vulnerability to mental health problems. The present study examined the structure of perceived stress, its longitudinal stability, and its associations with mental health in adolescents. Data were collected from a probabilistic sample of 1679 Croatian adolescents who were in the first or second year of high school at baseline and were followed across three measurement waves approximately six months apart. Perceived stress was assessed across six domains (school, future, parents, friends, romantic partners, and self), and structural equation modeling was used to test factor structure, measurement invariance across time and sex, and temporal stability. Competing models supported a hierarchical structure comprising six domain-specific factors and a higher-order general perceived stress factor. The measure demonstrated strong longitudinal and sex invariance. General perceived stress showed high stability across the three waves, despite being assessed as a current subjective experience. Perceived stress was moderately to strongly associated with depression, generalized anxiety, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, life satisfaction, and happiness, with no evidence of sex differences in these associations. These findings suggest that adolescent perceived stress is best conceptualized as a hierarchical and highly stable construct that is closely linked to multiple indicators of mental health and well-being.
The journal retracts the article titled “What Drives the Non-Medical Use of Stimulants Among College Students [...]
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a significant public health concern, with disproportionately higher prevalence among sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations compared to cisgender heterosexual individuals. While prior research has examined NSSI and related outcomes in SGM groups, evidence on specific risk and protective factors remains limited. This scoping review aimed to systematically map and synthesize risk and protective factors associated with NSSI in SGM populations. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to 2 February 2026. A total of 43 studies were included, the majority of which were conducted in the United States and employed cross-sectional designs. Data were charted and synthesized using a minority stress-informed socioecological framework. Findings indicate that NSSI is consistently associated with the co-occurrence of minority stress processes and intrapersonal vulnerabilities. Additional risk factors were identified across family, peer, and community domains. Protective factors were less frequently examined but included social support, family connectedness, school safety, and adaptive coping strategies. Overall, the findings suggest that NSSI among SGM populations is best understood as the result of interacting risk processes across multiple ecological levels. These results support a minority stress-informed, multi-level conceptualization of NSSI in SGM individuals and highlight the need for longitudinal research and greater focus on protective factors.
Adolescents growing up in multilingual regions experience diverse educational contexts that may shape their daily routines and psychosocial environments, but their independent relevance for mental health remains unclear. South Tyrol, with its parallel German-, Italian-, and Ladin-language school systems, provides a unique setting to examine these associations. This study assessed whether school language and home–school language mismatch are associated with mental health, psychosomatic symptoms, and health-related behaviors among adolescents. We analyzed data from a population-based survey of 2005 adolescents aged 11–19 years who provided self-reported information on mental health, psychosomatic complaints, school stress, social support, digital behaviors, lifestyle, and sleep. Multivariable regression analyses examined the independent association of home–school language mismatch with mental health outcomes, adjusting for sociodemographic and educational factors and further incorporating sleep-related behaviors. Mental health outcomes, psychosomatic symptoms, and most health-related behaviors showed little variation by school language, with generally small effect sizes. Home–school language mismatch was associated with slightly higher depressive symptom scores in unadjusted analyses but was not independently associated with mental health outcomes after adjustment. In contrast, weekly sleep problems emerged as the strongest correlate of depressive symptoms, accounting for a substantial proportion of explained variance. These findings indicate that adolescent mental health in this multilingual context is associated less with the language of schooling itself than with broader behavioral and developmental factors, highlighting sleep-related behaviors as a central and modifiable target for prevention.
Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent during adolescence and is associated with a range of emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal vulnerabilities. Although prior research has identified key correlates such as emotion dysregulation, hopelessness, interpersonal distress, and attachment insecurity, these factors have largely been examined in isolation, limiting understanding of how they jointly contribute to NSSI. Methods: The present study examined the network structure of NSSI and associated vulnerability processes in a community sample of 2067 Spanish adolescents (M age = 14.62, SD = 1.80). A regularized partial correlation network (EBICglasso) was estimated, including NSSI frequency and functions, emotion dysregulation, hopelessness, perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and attachment representations. Centrality and network stability were evaluated using standard indices and bootstrapping procedures. Results: The network revealed a differentiated structure of associations. Perceived burdensomeness and intrapersonal NSSI functions emerged as the most influential nodes, whereas emotion dysregulation occupied a key bridging position connecting attachment-related experiences, interpersonal vulnerability, and NSSI processes. In contrast, NSSI frequency and interpersonal functions showed a more peripheral role. Attachment security was negatively associated with core risk variables, consistent with a protective role within the network. Conclusions: Findings suggest that NSSI in adolescence is embedded within a system of interacting emotional and interpersonal processes, structured around the functional meaning of the behavior and key interpersonal appraisals. Emotion dysregulation emerged as a highly connected node linking multiple domains, while attachment was associated with several key variables within the network. These findings suggest potential targets for early identification and intervention, particularly focusing on emotion regulation, perceived burdensomeness, and intrapersonal functions of NSSI.
Mental well-being has been considered a fundamental contributor to overall academic success and psychological stability. Based on the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping, this study examined the mediating role of academic resilience in the relationship between perceived academic support and mental well-being of Kenyan TVET trainees. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed, with a sample of 1933 trainees (Mage = 22.87 years; 57.7% male) from 239 public TVET institutions in Kenya. The following measures were administered: Perceived Academic Support Questionnaire, Academic Resilience Scale, and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. Correlation analysis demonstrated that perceived academic support showed a strong positive association with mental well-being, whereas academic resilience indicated a moderate association. Consistent with the hypothesized model, parallel mediation analysis indicated that academic resilience partially mediated the relationship between academic support and mental well-being. The indirect effects observed across resilience dimensions indicated that emotional response was the dominant mediating pathway, while perseverance showed a small positive indirect effect, and adaptive help-seeking demonstrated a small but significant negative indirect effect. These findings contribute to the growing but limited literature on well-being in vocational training and suggest that while academic resilience serves as a key mediating mechanism, perceived academic support may also function as a direct protective factor, underscoring the importance of embedding structured emotional coping support within TVET academic environments.
