Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mahidol University, Thailand
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Psychological well‑being is an important part that undergraduate students and
universities cannot neglect as it helps students lead a better study life at the university. Various
studies revealed that social support can affect students’ psychological well‑being. However, the causal
relationship between social support and psychological well‑being has received little attention in North
China. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to analyze the causal relationship between social
support and psychological well‑being among undergraduate students in North China.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The survey approach was adopted and conducted with a total of 689
undergraduate students in North China. Data were collected using a reliable questionnaire. Data
analysis was performed with descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and structural equation
modeling at P < 0.01 significance level using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and
Linear Structural Relations (LISREL).
RESULTS: The overall levels of social support and psychological well‑being among undergraduate
students in North China were high. All observed variables in this study were significantly correlated.
The findings also confirmed that the causal relationship between social support and undergraduate
students’ psychological well‑being in North China fitted to the empirical data well (χ2 [22, N = 689]
= 27.69, χ2
/degree of freedom [df] = 1.26, P = 0.19, goodness of fit index [GFI] = 0.99, adjusted
goodness of fit index [AGFI] = 0.98, comparative fit index [CFI] = 1.00, standardized root mean square
residual [SRMR] = 0.02, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.02).
CONCLUSIONS: Undergraduate students’ psychological well‑being had been significantly affected
by social support in North China. The findings from the current study will be useful for university
administrators to develop strategies for the enhancement of undergraduate students’ psychological
well‑being.
Keywords
aspects of psychological well‑being. S Afr J Psychol 2003;33:212‑8.
2. Ryff CD. Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on
the meaning of psychological well‑being. J Pers Soc Psychol
1989;57:1069‑81.
3. Ma L. How to do a good job on mental health education for college
students in the new situation. Data of Culture and Education
2011;9:230‑1.
4. Wei R. How to do well in the work of undergraduate students’
psychological well‑being. Journal of Chifeng University
2012;5:213‑5.
5. Peng S, Wang X, Chen W. Research on the relationship between
digital entertainment consumption and subjective well‑being
of college students during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Youth &
Children Research and Practice 2020;4:18‑24.
6. Rathi N. Relationship of quality of work life with employees’
psychological well‑being. International Journal of Business
Insights and Transformation 2009;3:53‑60.
7. Yusoff MS. Association of pass‑fail outcomes with psychological
health of first‑year medical students in a Malaysian medical
school. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J 2013;13:107‑14.
8. Ajoke OO, Sunday IE. The association between sense of humor
and psychological well‑being among undergraduate students.
J Hum Ecol 2020;71:1‑7.
9. YU J, Chae S. The mediating effect of resilience on the relationship
between the academic burnout and psychological well‑being of
medical students. Korean J Med Edc 2020;32:13‑21.
10. Lapa TY. Physical activity levels and psychological well‑being:
A case study of university students. Procedia Soc Behav Sci
2015;186:739‑43.
11. Alandete JG. Does meaning in life predict psychological well‑being? An analysis using the Spanish version of the
purpose‑in‑life test and the Ryff’s scales. Eur J Psychother Couns
2015;3:89‑98.
12. Extremera N, Sanchez AN, Rey L. Pathways between ability
emotional intelligence and subjective well‑being: Bridge links
through cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Sustainability
2020;12:1‑11.
13. Whittington RE, Rhind S, Loads D, Handel I. Exploring the link
between mindset and psychological well‑being among veterinary
students. J Vet Med Educ 2017;44:134‑40.
14. LaBelle S, Johnson ZD. The relationship of student‑to‑student
confirmation in the classroom to college students’ mental health
and well‑being. Commun Q 2021;69:133‑51.
15. Bahramian E, Mazaheri MA, Hasanzadeh A. The relationship
between media literacy and psychological well‑being in
adolescent girls in Semirom city. J Educ Health Promot 2018;7:148.
16. Rentala S, Thimmajja SG, Tilekar SD, Nayak RB, Aladakatti R.
Impact of holistic stress management program on academic
stress and well‑being of Indian adolescent girls: A randomized
controlled trial. J Educ Health Promot 2019;8:253.
17. Franzen J, Jermann F, Ghisletta P, Rudaz S, Bondolfi G, Tran NT.
Psychological distress and well‑being among students of health
disciplines: The importance of academic satisfaction. Int J Environ
Res 2021;18:1‑10.
18. Adyani L, Suzanna E, Safuwan S, Muryali M. Perceived social
support and psychological well‑being among interstate students
at Malikussaleh University. Indigenous: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi
2019;3:98‑104.
19. GardnerAA, WebbHJ. Acontextual examination of the associations
between social support, self‑esteem, and psychological well‑being
among Jamaican adolescents. Youth Soc 2019;51:707‑30.
20. Poudel A, Gurrung B, Khanal GP. Perceived social support
and psychological wellbeing among Nepalese adolescents: The
mediating role of self‑esteem. BMC Psychol 2020;8:1‑8.
21. Sari WL, Fakhruddiana F. Internal local of control, social support
and academic procrastination among students in completing the
thesis. Int J Eval Res Educ (IJERE) 2019;8:363‑8.
22. Vaux A, Phillips J, Holly L, Thomson B, William D, Stewart D.
The social support appraisal (SS‑A) scale: Studies of reliability
and validity. Am J Community Psychol 1986;14:195‑218.
23. Zimet GD, Powell SS, Farley GK, Werkman S, Berkoff KA.
Psychometric characteristics of the Multidimensional Scale of
Perceived Social Support. J Pers Assess 1990;55:610‑7.
24. Sarriera JC, Bedin L, Abs D, Calza T, Casas F. Relationship
between social support, life satisfaction and subjective well‑being
in Brazilian adolescents. Univ Psychol 2015;14:459‑74.
25. Bano Z, Siwat A. Psychological well‑being, social support, and
self‑efficacy: A comparison of nonresident adolescents of religious
and nonreligious schools. Pak J Psychol Res 2017;32:371‑92.
26. Lian L. The effect of conscientiousness on psychological
well‑being: The serial mediating effect of college students’
perceived social support and gratitude. Psychology: Techniques
and Applications 2017;5:154‑9.
27. Yang J. The relationship between social support and psychological
well‑being among university students. Journal of Liaoning
Administration College 2010;12:170‑1.
28. Westland, JC. Lower bounds on sample size in structural equation
modeling. Electron Commer Res Appl 2010;9:476‑87.
29. Ryff CD. Psychological well‑being in adult life. Curr Dir Psycgol
Sci 1995;4:99‑104.
30. Lee TS, Sun HF, Chiang HH. Development and validation of
the Short‑Form Ryff’s psychological well‑being scale for clinical
nurses in Taiwan. J Med Sci 2019;39:157‑62.
31. Hooper D, Coughlan J, Mullen M. Structural equation modelling:
Guidelines for determining model fit. J Bus Res 2008;6:53‑60.
32. Zhang Y. The relationship between perceived social support
and learning input of preschool education students: The chain
intermediated effect of career adaptability and professional
commitment. Journal of Huaibei Normal University 2021;42:95‑101.
33. Lei S, Wang H, Luo L, Cao L, Liang L, Yang L, et al. A study on
the relationship between social anxiety, emotional management
and the perceived social support among college nursing students.
The Journal of Medical Theory and Practice 2022;35:337‑9.
34. Zhu P, Liu B. An analysis of psychological well‑being of university
students and its influence. J Hunan First Norm Univ 2013;2:95‑9.
35. Jin S. The investigation of university students’ psychological
well‑being: A case study of Guangxi Normal University for
Nationalities. Journal of Psychological Quality 2018;22:82‑3.
)