Me and the University. Dimensions of educational well-being in university contexts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.1970-2221/21654Keywords:
student well-being, test anxiety, university students, higher education, student-teacher relationshipsAbstract
The essay presents the initial results of a study aimed at developing a tool to assess university students' educational well-being and explore potential connections between various factors that influence their sense of comfort and ease at university. The results confirm the robustness of a model that examines three main dimensions—educational well-being, anxiety, and socialization—reinforcing previous research efforts to define educational well-being within a pedagogical framework. This perspective aims to provide universities with useful insights for designing concrete interventions to promote student well-being. The construct includes five scales related to well-being—consideration, environment, professors, teaching, and sense of protection—and four scales related to anxiety, including general anxiety and three different aspects of evaluation-related anxiety: concern in evaluative situations, judgment from others (peers, professors, and family), and a sense of inadequacy regarding the academic path.
References
Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health. Jossey-Bass.
Backhaus, I., Varela, A. R., Khoo, S., Siefken, K., Crozier, A., Begotaraj, E., Fischer, F., Wiehn, J., Lanning, B., Lin, P., Jan, S., Zaranza Monteiro, L., Al-Shamli, A., La Torre, G., & Kawachi, I. (2020). Associations between social capital and depressive symptoms among college students in 12 countries: Results of a cross-national study. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 644. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00644
Baik, C., Larcombe, W., & Brooker, A. (2019). How universities can enhance student mental wellbeing: The student perspective. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(4), 674–687. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1576596
Barkham, M., Broglia, E., Dufour, G., Fudge, M., Knowles, L., Percy, A., Turner, A., Williams, C., & SCORE Consortium. (2019). Towards an evidence-base for student wellbeing and mental health: Definitions, developmental transitions and data sets. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 19(4), 351–357. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12227
Bedewy, D., & Gabriel, A. (2015). Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale. Health Psychology Open, 2(2), 2055102915596714. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102915596714
Bhugra, D., Till, A., & Sartorius, N. (2013). What is mental health? International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59, 3–4. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764012463315
Blackman, T. (2020). What affects student wellbeing? Health Education Policy Institute Policy Note 21.
Botta, E. (2022). Adaptive multi-level model for mathematical ability estimation: Experimentation on large-scale surveys. Edizioni Nuova Cultura.
Botta, E., & Lucisano, P. (2024a). L’esperienza scolastica valutata dagli studenti. Il questionario “Io e la scuola” a supporto dei processi di miglioramento del benessere scolastico. Annali Online della Didattica e della Formazione Docente, 16(28), 17-43.
Botta, E., & Lucisano, P. (2024b). Il benessere iniquo. Il questionario “Io e la scuola” da strumento di ricerca a strumento di riflessione per le scuole. In R. Tammaro, C. Lisimberti & A. Tinterri (Eds.), Ricerca didattica e formazione degli insegnanti - Modelli, approcci e metodologie: Atti del Convegno Internazionale SIRD 2024 (pp. 1–15). Pensa Multimedia.
Brett, C. E., Mathieson, M. L., & Rowley, A. M. (2022). Determinants of wellbeing in university students: The role of residential status, stress, loneliness, resilience, and sense of coherence. Current Psychology, 42, 19699–19708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03125-8
Buckton, A. (2015). Conversations between anthropology and psychiatry: Drawing out the best from interdisciplinarity in global mental health. Australasian Psychiatry, 23, 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856215608291
Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801
Diehl, K., Jansen, C., Ishchanova, K., & Hilger-Kolb, J. (2018). Loneliness at universities: Determinants of emotional and social loneliness among students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(9), 1865. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15091865
Diener, E. (2012). New findings and future directions for subjective well-being research. American Psychologist, 67, 590–597. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029541
Dopmeijer, J. M. (2021). Running on empty: The impact of challenging student life on wellbeing and academic performance [Doctoral dissertation, University of Amsterdam]. Digital Academic Repository.
Douwes, R., Metselaar, J., Pijnenborg, G. H. M., & Boonstra, N. (2023). Well-being of students in higher education: The importance of a student perspective. Cogent Education, 10(1), 2190697. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2190697
Farnese, M. L., Spagnoli, P., & Livi, S. (2022). Undergraduates’ academic socialization: A cross‐time analysis. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(4), 1239-1255. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12495
Fletcher, D., & Sarkar, M. (2013). Psychological resilience: A review and critique of definitions, concepts, and theory. European Psychologist, 18(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000124
Galderisi, S., Heinz, A., Kastrup, M., Beezhold, J., & Sartorius, N. (2015). Toward a new definition of mental health. World Psychiatry, 14, 231–233. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20231
Graham, A., Anderson, D., Truscott, J., Simmons, C., Thomas, N. P., Cashmore, J., & Bessell, S. (2022). Exploring the associations between student participation, wellbeing and recognition at school. Cambridge Journal of Education, 52(4), 453-472. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2021.1929767
Hakanen, J. J., Feldt, T., & Leskinen, E. (2007). Change and stability of sense of coherence in adulthood: Longitudinal evidence from the Healthy Child study. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 602–617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.07.001
Hernández-Torrano, D., Ibrayeva, L., Sparks, J., Lim, N., Clementi, A., Almukhambetova, A., Nurtayev, Y., & Muratkyzy, A. (2020). Mental health and well-being of university students: A bibliometric mapping of the literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1226. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01226
Hunt, J., & Eisenberg, D. (2010). Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.08.008
Lindorff, A. (2020). The impact of promoting student wellbeing on student academic and non-academic outcomes: An analysis of the evidence. Oxford University Press.
Lipson, S. K., & Eisenberg, D. (2018). Mental health and academic attitudes and expectations in university populations: Results from the healthy minds study. Journal of Mental Health, 27(3), 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2017.1417567
Livi, S., Scarci, F., Prislei, L., Parisse, C., Cecalupo, A., & Marini, M. (2023). Assessing cohesion among school students: Development and validation of the School Class Cohesion Scale (SCCS). Unpublished manuscript. Sapienza University of Rome.
Lucisano, P., & Botta, E. (2023). «Io e la scuola»: Percezione di ansia e benessere degli studenti in ambiente scolastico. Journal of Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies (ECPS Journal), (28), 137-160.
Mabry, P. L., Olster, D. H., Morgan, G. D., & Abrams, D. B. (2008). Interdisciplinarity and systems science to improve population health: A view from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35, S211–S224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.018
McIntosh, E., & Shaw, J. (2017). Student Resilience: Exploring the Positive Case for Resilience (Unite Group). www.unite-group.co.uk/sites/default/files/2017-05/student-resilience.pdf
McIntyre, J. C., Worsley, J., Corcoran, R., Harrison Woods, P., & Bentall, R. P. (2018). Academic and non-academic predictors of student psychological distress: The role of social identity and loneliness. Journal of Mental Health, 27(3), 230–239. https://doi.org/10.1080 09638237.2018.1437608
Muthén, B. (1983). Latent variable structural equation modeling with categorical data. Journal of Econometrics, 22, 48-65.
Muthén, B. (1989). Latent variable modeling in heterogeneous populations. Psychometrika, 54, 557 -585.
Muthén, L.K., & Muthén, B.O. (1998-2015). Mplus User’s Guide. Seventh Edition. Muthén e Muthén.
Nunnally, J.C., & Bernstein, I.H. (1994). Psychometric theory. McGraw – Hill.
Office for Students (2020a). Local and commuter students: Challenges and opportunities. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-providers/equality-of-opportunity/effective-practice/local-and-commuter-students/
Office for Students (2020b). Update to associations between characteristics of students (ABCS). How do outcomes differ when accounting for multiple student characteristics? https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/5419/abcs_2020_update_final_for_web_2021.pdf
Powell, M. A., Graham, A., Fitzgerald, R., Thomas, N., & White, N. E. (2018). Wellbeing in schools: What do students tell us?. The Australian Educational Researcher, 45(4), 515-531.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5(57), https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.
Ryff, C. D., Keyes, C. L. M., & Hughes, D. L. (2003). Status inequalities, perceived discrimination, and eudaimonic well-being: Do the challenges of minority life hone purpose and growth? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44(3), 275-291.
Sánchez Moreno, E., & Barrón López de Roda, A. (2003). Social psychology of mental health: The social structure and personality perspective. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 6, 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1138741600005163
Seligman, M. E. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.
Seligman, M. E. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 333-335.
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., Lushene, R., Vagg, P. R., & Jacobs, G. A. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Stanzione, I. (2017). Validazione e standardizzazione della versione italiana del questionario “Come Ti Senti?” sul benessere e disagio nella scuola secondaria di primo grado. Italian Journal of Educational Research, 18, 115-131.
Windle, G. (2011). What is resilience? A review and concept analysis. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, 21(2), 152–169. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959259810000420
World Health Organization. (2004). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice (Summary Report). WHO.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Emanuela Botta
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
