"When the political becomes personal": evaluation of an elected president, election distress, and college students' psychological well-being.

286 college-attending emerging adults (= 20, = 1.40) participated in the current study. Path models linking evaluation of Trump's leadership ability (pre-election) to psychological well-being (approx. 100 days in office) via election distress (presidential inauguration) were computed. Reporting lower confidence in Trump's leadership ability prior to the election was associated with greater election distress 3 months post-election, and in turn, poorer psychological well-being 6 months post-election. Findings underscore the importance of centering college students' well-being within a broader sociopolitical context.