Modelling the effects of Psychological Well-Being Attributes on Students' Happiness

Abstract

Assessing psychological well-being of students and their happiness towards life is important towards building a healthy nation and future generation with sound mental state. This study describes the effects of psychological well-being attributes on the happiness of students using hierarchical regression modelling. The attributes which include general health, vitality, self-acceptance, academic stress, self-control, and positive relation are measured in a questionnaire developed based on a focus group interview and sources relating to psychological well-being issues. A sample of 384 undergraduate students under the Science and Technology programmes of study from a local public university in Malaysia were surveyed. The study shows that there are highly significant positive effects of students' general health, vitality, and self-acceptance on their happiness with self-acceptance being the most important predictor. Even though academic stress and self-control are not significantly related, these attributes are found to be negatively related with happiness. Generally within the context of this study, students' happiness at this public university are associated with strong vitality, and high self-acceptance and strong positive relation with peers.