Psychological protective factors mediate the relationship between decision-making styles and mental health

The study examines the associations between decision-making styles and psychological protective factors and tests the role of protective factors as mediators between selected decision-making styles and mental health. 211 university students (mean age = 21.4, 82.5% females) completed a battery of tests assessing their preference of decision-making styles, three protective factors (resilience, optimism, social support), and three mental health indicators (well-being, perceived stress, depression). Multiple linear regression models explored the associations between the decision-making styles and protective factors. Structural equation modelling was used to test the protective factors as mediators between decision-making styles and mental health. The intuitive decision-making style is associated with a higher level and avoidant decision-making style with a lower level of protective factors. Protective factors mediate the associations between the rational, intuitive and avoidant decision-making styles and mental health. The role of some decision-making styles in protective factors indicates that increasing the use of rational processing or intuition and decreasing the tendency to avoid decisions can have a positive effect on mental health through protective factors.