Psychological Helplessness and Its Relationship to Future Anxiety among University Students: A Descriptive Study
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Abstract
This research seeks to understand the role played by psychological helplessness in exacerbating future anxiety among Iraqi university students, against the backdrop of the profound transformations witnessed by Iraqi society due to successive wars and pandemics. These events have left severe psychological repercussions, manifesting in the individual's feeling of powerlessness to influence the outcomes of their actions, thereby undermining their capacity to manage their lives and leading to resignation and loss of control. This, in turn, renders them more susceptible to future anxiety, which manifests as chronic fear of impending events and uncertainty, particularly among youth navigating a critical phase of identity formation and self-actualization. The research adopted a descriptive-analytical methodology, drawing upon three primary theoretical frameworks to explain psychological helplessness: Seligman's Psychological Helplessness Theory, Deci and Ryan's Self-Determination Theory, and Nolen-Hoeksema's Rumination Theory. Additionally, psychoanalytic, contextual-interactional, and social constructionist perspectives were utilized to interpret future anxiety. The study aims to identify the respective roles of psychological helplessness and future anxiety among university students, and to reveal the nature of the correlational relationship between them. The critical analysis of the literature culminated in the construction of a proposed multi-level programmatic framework grounded in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), incorporating cognitive, skills-based, and institutional interventions designed to mitigate psychological helplessness and future anxiety. This framework is amenable to subsequent empirical testing to develop effective psychological and academic support programs for this vital segment of society
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