How well emerging adults adapt to transitions, like entering or graduating from post-secondary education, may depend on individual differences. Emotional wellbeing within post-secondary education contexts has been studied, but little research has examined patterns of change after graduation. A diverse sample of emerging adults in their final year of university (N = 159; Mage = 23.22) were surveyed at four time points starting prior to and then across the year after graduation. Most participants (58%) showed stable, low depressive symptoms, a small percentage (9%) decreased in depressive symptoms, and a sizeable group (32%) increased in depressive symptoms. Low or decreasing depressive symptoms were associated with higher baseline optimism and grit and lower neuroticism and with qualitative accounts of willingness to learn from setbacks, self-efficacy, and gratitude for the university experience. Mixed-methods results highlight the challenges and role of self-regulatory strengths for adjustment at this juncture.

新兴成年人对过渡的适应程度，例如进入或从中学后教育毕业，可能取决于个体差异。已经研究了中学后教育背景下的情绪健康，但很少有研究检查毕业后的变化模式。大学最后一年的新兴成年人的多样化样本（N  = 159；M年龄 = 23.22）在毕业前的四个时间点进行了调查，然后在毕业后的一年内进行了调查。大多数参与者 (58%) 表现出稳定的低抑郁症状，一小部分 (9%) 的抑郁症状有所减轻，而相当大的一组 (32%) 的抑郁症状有所增加。抑郁症状的减轻或减轻与较高的基线乐观和毅力以及较低的神经质以及从挫折中学习的意愿、自我效能感和对大学经历的感激之情有关。混合方法的结果突出了自我监管力量在这一关头进行调整的挑战和作用。