The Influence of Optimism on College Students' Psychological Well-being

Abstract

Final-year students often face psychological challenges when completing their studies. An optimistic attitude can play an important role in alleviating these psychological difficulties. This study examines optimism's impact on psychological well-being among 2021 students at Muhammadiyah University Tasikmalaya. This study uses a quantitative approach with a correlational design. The population consisted of 436 final year undergraduate students from the 2021 cohort. A total of 195 respondents were selected using simple random sampling with a margin of error of 5%. Data were collected using two instruments: an optimism scale with a reliability of 0.606 and a psychological well-being scale with a reliability of 0.911. Descriptive analysis showed that most of the sample fell into the optimistic category, and most students also fell into the high psychological well-being category. Simple linear regression analysis showed that optimism contributed 32.1% (R² = 0.321) to psychological well-being, with the remaining variance influenced by other factors. The study's conclusion reveals that optimism significantly impacts psychological well-being among final year students, with a significant proportion of the variance explained by optimism. The implication of this study is as a source of information for counseling and guidance services to increase optimism and psychological well-being among final year students.