Walker, S. P.McHugh, L. A.Munsamy, Kimberley Mariah2022-07-282022-07-282021-10http://hdl.handle.net/11660/11794University students appear to report greater emotional distress than the general population. Experiential avoidance has been found to contribute to the development and exacerbation of emotional distress. Moreover, repetitive negative thinking may influence the relationship between experiential avoidance and emotional distress. However, no study has investigated the interaction of these variables amongst South African students. The current study thus sought to investigate (i) whether repetitive negative thinking mediates the relationship between experiential avoidance and emotional distress, and (ii) whether gender differences and/or educational status impact this interaction. Participants were 419 undergraduate students at a large public university in South Africa (Female=75.2%, First-generation students=37.5%). Participants completed measures of experiential avoidance, emotional distress, rumination, and worry. No significant differences were found with respect to emotional distress, experiential avoidance, or repetitive negative thinking across gender or educational status. Experiential avoidance and repetitive negative thinking accounted for 60.8% of the variance in emotional distress. Rumination emerged as the strongest predictor of experiential avoidance. Repetitive negative thinking partially mediated the relationship between experiential avoidance and emotional distress. Implications of these findings for mental health are discussed and areas for future research are identified.enDissertation (M.Soc.Sc. (Counselling Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2021University studentsEmotional distressExperiential avoidanceRepetitive negative thinkingMediationRuminationWorryDissertationUniversity of the Free State