Post-secondary student perspectives about how to support student resilience

It is increasingly recognized that resilience can significantly help post- secondary students to mitigate the response to stress and adversity. The discussion of how to inculcate resiliency is often left to academic leaders and service providers. However, one of the voices that has been relatively less heard in the development of relevant resources is that of students themselves. The current study surveyed university students (N = 281) and assessed both the internal and external resources that students believed were important for the development of resilience. Participants rated personal resources somewhat more highly than external resources. In particular, the personal attributes of self-care, persistence and executive functioning were rated as key variables in the development of resilience. The study also compared subgroups of participants, to examine the influence of individual differences on the perceived importance of these resources. As examples, women rated several personal resources higher than men, and international students, students of colour, and Indigenous students rated access to cultural/spiritual resources higher than their comparison group. Study limitations were noted, but it was recommended that post-secondary institutions take into account student perspectives when developing campus resources. This study provides suggestions about which types of resources are most important for different types of students.