The Influence of Humor on Students Resilience

Abstract

Humor refers to something that is considered funny, fun, and entertaining. The use of humor can contribute to psychological health, healthy relationships, quality of life, good communication, and effective coping strategies. There has been a lot of literature that discusses the influence of humor on one's psychology. Humor has a positive impact on negative feelings such as stress, anxiety, and depression. This study aims to determine the factors that come from humor that can form resilience in students. Systematic database search (PubMed, ProQuest, Google Scholar, JSTOR, and Sciencedirect) for peer-reviewed, English article, published 2012-2022 that reports on the effect of humor on personal development which in turn creates resilience. The selection of articles used the guideline from PRISMA and in the selection process, the inclusion and exclusion criteria were considered. 35 articles according to the topic were then analyzed as a whole. The results of the analysis in the study show that positive humor has a good influence on individual self-development. Some of these positive influences include self-esteem, problem-solving skills, good relations, self-enhancing, negotiation, good communication, coping mechanisms, and mindfulness. This research can be a consideration for building sustainable mental health in universities. Universities can consider using humor as a medium to build positive character which in turn supports the creation of resilience in students. Then this will affect a positive academic atmosphere so that students will feel comfortable and get life satisfaction.