Abstract
This study examined a two-factor model of affective health in economically disadvantaged college students. The purpose was to determine whether negative and positive characteristics were uniquely linked to outcomes of the same social and affective domain. The design of the study involved an experience sampling methodology; 101 economically disadvantaged college students completed experience surveys at six times during the day for a period of one week. The experience surveys measure daily variations in positive and negative affect and feelings about social interactions. For each participant, vulnerability and resilience factors were created from factor analyses using eight measures of personal characteristics. Results from hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that the resilience factor predicted changes in positive interactions and positive affect, whereas the vulnerability factor did not. The vulnerability factor predicted changes in negative interactions and negative affect, whereas the resilience factor did not. In addition, positive social interactions fully mediated the relationship between the resilience factor and positive affect. However, negative social interactions only partially mediated the relationship between the vulnerability factor and negative affect. These findings suggest that it is critical to consider personal and social factors in the positive as well as the negative domains.