Browsing by Author "Parvathy Varma"
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    The influence of dispositional optimism-pessimism on life satisfaction mediated by coping strategies among Thais in Bangkok
    (Bangkok : Assumption University, 2019) Yanika Hoontrakul ; Parvathy Varma
    Research has shown that optimism and productive coping strategies have a momentous positive impact on physical and psychological well-being. It has been found that optimists tend to use engaged-style coping and pessimists use disengagedstyle coping. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the direct and indirect relationship of dispositional optimism-pessimism on life satisfaction, being mediated by coping strategies among Thais in Bangkok. Two hundred and four Thai adults participated in an online survey. The research design of this study was correlational, using path analysis to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that there was no direct influence between optimism-pessimism on life satisfaction. However, there was an indirect positive relationship between optimism and life satisfaction, mediated by engaged coping. Lastly, there was no indirect relationship of pessimism on life satisfaction, mediated by disengaged coping, but disengaged coping was negatively related to life satisfaction. Some of the results in the present study diverged significantly from existing literature, future research is recommended to further investigate these discrepancies. Future studies should also continue to explore predictors to life satisfaction within the Thai population and develop culturally appropriate interventions.
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    The influence of social support and student's self efficacy on academic engagement of undergraduate students mediated by sense of belonging and psychological distress
    (Bangkok : Assumption University, 2019) Santi Handagoon ; Parvathy Varma
    This study investigates the relationship of social support and self-efficacy on the academic engagement of Thai undergraduate students in Chiang Mai, Thailand, mediated by sense of belonging and psychological distress. A total of 267 students (aged between 17 and 24) from three universities in Chiang Mai participated in this study by completing a self-administered questionnaire designed to measure the study’s primary variables (social support, self-efficacy, sense of belonging, psychological distress, and academic engagement). The results of the study indicate that the undergraduate students’ social support and self-efficacy, directly or indirectly mediated by sense of belonging and psychological distress, have no significant relationship to their academic engagement. Therefore, social support, self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and psychological distress present no predictive value to undergraduate students’ academic engagement. However, the results reveal that students’ social support and self-efficacy is directly and significantly related to their psychological distress in the opposite direction. This finding indicates that the more social support and self-efficacy undergraduate students have, the less psychological distress they have. The implication of this finding may help undergraduate students ease their psychological distress by promoting their social support and self-efficacy.
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