Resilience as a Key to Mental Well-Being in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Evidence and Strategies

Background: University students face numerous challenges, making resilience critical for adapting, recovering, and thriving in response to academic and personal demands. Resilience enhances mental well-being, academic performance, and life satisfaction, emphasizing its importance for this demographic. This systematic review provides a comprehensive analysis of resilience in university students, examining its prevalence, associated factors, and relationship with mental health and well-being, while identifying opportunities for targeted interventions in higher education. Methodology: Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, 33 cross-sectional studies conducted between 2019 and 2024 were reviewed. A systematic search was performed across PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The studies included 37,547 participants (mean age ~22 years) without major mental health conditions. Resilience was measured using validated tools, such as the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Results: Resilience was a central variable, frequently assessed alongside stress, depression, and anxiety. Higher resilience levels were strongly associated with reduced stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as improved well-being, sleep quality, and academic engagement. Resilience also emerged as a protective factor against burnout, loneliness, and mobile phone addiction.Conclusions: The findings emphasize the critical role of resilience in promoting mental health and overall well-being among university students. They underscore the need for targeted interventions to build resilience, offering a foundation for improved academic and personal outcomes within this population.