Well-Being of College Students in China

Abstract

In this study, we tested a modified academic satisfaction model based on social cognitive career theory in a sample of 757 college students in China. The hypothesized model included personality traits (extraversion and emotional stability), self-construals (independence and interdependence), environmental and person-cognitive variables (supports, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and perceived goal progress) in the academic domain, and academic and global well-being outcomes. Pathways that consisted of academic supports, self-efficacy, and goal progress partially mediated the effects of personality traits and self-construals on academic satisfaction and/or stress, which were, in turn, predictive of life satisfaction. Although Chinese students perceived outcomes of completing a college degree as favorable, such outcome expectations did not predict progress made in the academic domain. Multigroup analyses showed that the modified academic satisfaction model was applicable to both male and female college students in two major metropolitan areas-Chongqing in Southwest China and Shanghai in East China. With evidence for measurement equivalence, full structural equivalence was present by gender, whereas two of the hypothesized paths differed by location. Results of the study suggest that outreach or intervention programs, which involve gathering supports, boosting self-efficacy, and facilitating goal progress in the academic domain, are particularly beneficial for promoting the well-being of Chinese college students.

Supporting the well-being of student veterans and service members: Contextual factors and self-determination

“…Perceived competence had a particularly strong direct relation with academic well-being (β = .55, p < .001), and its direct relation with global well-being was also significant (β = .26, p < .01). These findings are consistent with prior college student samples in which perceived competence was repeatedly found to significantly predict various indicators of both academic well-being (e.g., Garriott et al, 2015;Lent et al, 2005;Murray et al, 2014) and global well-being (e.g., Renshaw & Bolognino, 2016;Sheu et al, 2017;Vela et al, 2016). They also corroborate significant relations between perceived competence and academic well-being in military students (Artino, 2008), as well as between perceived competence and global well-being in a recent veteran sample (Seligowski et al, 2012).…”

“…Relation to well-being. Seven studies were located that examined the relation between perceived academic competence in college students and life satisfaction, which is the global well-being indicator that was used in the present study (Coffman & Gilligan, 2002;Garriott et al, 2015;Ojeda, Flores, & Navarro, 2011;O'Sullivan, 2011;Renshaw & Bolognino, 2016;Sheu et al, 2017;Vela et al, 2016). The relation was statistically significant in all of the studies, with correlations ranging from .21 to .44 (ps < .05).…”

“…Global well-being refers to a subjective, integrative assessment of positive functioning in general in a person's life (Diener, 1984). Life satisfaction has widely been used as a proxy for global well-being in psychological and educational research (e.g., Oishi, Diener, Choi, Kim-Prieto, & Choi, 2007;Sheu, Liu, & Li, 2017;Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Fox, & Ntoumanis, 2005), most commonly measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). The SWLS has demonstrated good psychometric properties in recent college student samples (e.g., Garriott, Hudyma, Keene, & Santiago, 2015;Lent et al, 2005;Niemiec, Ryan, & Deci, 2009) and recent military/veteran samples (e.g., Hammer, Wan, Brockwood, Mohr, & Carlson, 2017;Proyer, Annen, Eggimann, Schneider, & Ruch, 2012;Seligowski et al, 2012;Skomorovsky & Sudom, 2011;Tsai, Harpaz-Rotem, Pietrzak, & Southwick, 2012).…”

“…Academic well-being refers to positive functioning across facets of the student learning experience (e.g., subjective progress toward learning goals, positive affect in relation to schoolwork, perceived difficulty processing learning material; Nguyen & Deci, 2016). Academic satisfaction has been used as a proxy for academic well-being in recent psychological and educational research (e.g., Lent et al, 2005;Pedersen, 2017;Sheu et al, 2017), with the Academic Satisfaction Scale (ASS; Lent et al) being a measure that has demonstrated good psychometric properties in recent college student samples (e.g., Garriott et al, 2015;Lent et al).…”

“…It found a moderate correlation (r = .47, p < .001). Seven studies were located that examined the relation between perceived academic competence and academic satisfaction in the general college student population (Garriott et al, 2015;Lent et al, 2005;Murray et al, 2014;Ojeda et al, 2011;Renshaw & Bolognino, 2016;Sheu et al, 2017;Vela et al, 2016). The relation was statistically significant in all of the studies, with correlations ranging from .39 to .56 (ps < .05).…”