Correlates of resilience among university students in Oman: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Resilience has a paramount role in dealing with different life stressors and has a great impact on mental health. AIM: To assess the level of resilience among university students and explore the relation between resilience and a number of variables including psychological well-being, self-esteem and physical health. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was utilized. Data was collected from 676 university students. Students were required to complete a demographic sheet, Brief Resilience Scale, World Health Organization Well-Being Index, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a physical health survey. RESULTS: Overall, less than half of the participants have reported low levels of resilience (45.3%; n = 306). Regular sleep, perceived stress, WHO well-being index, self-esteem, and having a cumulative GPA of more than two, were factors that significantly predicted positive resilience in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Resilience is a necessary skill among university students that requires more academic attention. Factors predicting positive resilience should be considered when implementing mental health promotion programs.