Purpose: This study was designed to examine the relationships among daily hassles, social support, entrapment and mental health status in relation to gender in university students.
Methods: Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire from 118 male and 98 female college students in Kangwon province. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 18.0 program for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and stepwise multiple regression.
Results: There were significant differences in daily hassles, entrapment and depression between male and female group. Also, there were significant relationship between entrapment and mental health status (i.e. depression, anxiety, hostility, somatization) in both groups. In male students, internal entrapment was the significant predictor of depression and anxiety, and external entrapment was the significant predictor of hostility and somatization whereas, in female students external entrapment was the significant predictor of depression, and internal entrapment was the significant predictor of anxiety, hostility and somatization.
Conclusion: These results suggest that entrapment is an important factor for psychological maladaptation due to stressful life events. Therefore, strategies that reduce perception of entrapment according to gender should be developed for psychological adaptation.
Keywords: Entrapment; Mental health; Social support; Stress.