The transition to college involves a number of novel stressors for young adults and represents a period of heightened risk for the onset or worsening of diverse mental health problems. The presence of natural mentors may be one factor which alleviates risk for mental health problems in college first-year students. Using a diverse sample of 275 first-year college students, the present study examined the effects of different types of natural mentors within students’ support networks on internalizing symptoms during the first semester of college. In addition, analyses explored whether different student approaches to emotion regulation were one mechanism by which natural mentors influence internalizing symptoms. Path analyses indicated that students with a greater number of close family member/family friend mentors reported less emotion suppression, which in turn accounted for the associations between these mentoring relationships and reduced depressive symptoms and worry at follow-up. In contrast, less emotionally close mentors, such as teachers or coworkers, did not significantly shape emotion regulation strategies or internalizing symptom outcomes. Results have implications for the design of more targeted interventions that promote emotional well-being in college first-year students.

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自然师徒关系对大学生心理健康的影响：情绪调节的作用

向大学的过渡涉及年轻人的许多新压力源，并且代表着各种心理健康问题发生或恶化的风险增加的时期。自然导师的存在可能是减轻大学一年级学生心理健康问题风险的一个因素。本研究使用 275 名一年级大学生的不同样本，研究了学生支持网络中不同类型的自然导师对大学第一学期内化症状的影响。此外，分析探讨了不同的学生情绪调节方法是否是自然导师影响内化症状的一种机制。路径分析表明，拥有更多亲密家庭成员/家庭朋友导师的学生报告的情绪抑制较少，这反过来解释了这些指导关系与减少抑郁症状和随访担忧之间的关联。相比之下，情感上不太亲密的导师，如老师或同事，并没有显着影响情绪调节策略或内化症状结果。结果对设计更有针对性的干预措施有影响，以促进大学一年级学生的情绪健康。