A study of stress, social support, and perceived happiness among college students

Journal Title: The Journal of Happiness and Well-Being - Year 2014, Vol 2, Issue 2

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the relationship of students’ happiness, stress, and emotional closeness to others to help move towards evidence-based practices for this population. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to examine whether college students’ perceived happiness differed significantly based on stress, frequency of stress management techniques, and emotional closeness to others (social support). Results indicated that students are least happy about their financial situation, at work, and at school. Perceived happiness differed significantly based on stress levels and emotional closeness to others. Those who reported low perceived happiness reported higher stress levels and lower emotional closeness to others. The majority (61.0%) of participants reported having high stress, and were most stressed regarding school, lack of time, and with their future career. Although high levels of stress were reported, most (72.0%) students reported low frequency in using stress management techniques. Similar to the findings on perceived happiness, perceived stress differed significantly based on emotionally closeness to parents/legal guardians and friends. Those who reported low perceived stress reported higher emotional closeness to others.

Authors and Affiliations

Keith A. King| University of Cincinnati Health Promotion and Education Program, USA, Rebecca A. Vidourek| University of Cincinnati Health Promotion and Education Program, USA, Ashley L. Merianos| University of Cincinnati Health Promotion and Education Program, USA. E-mail: merianal@mail.uc.edu, Meha Singh| University of Cincinnati Health Promotion and Education Program, USA

Keywords

Related Articles

Forgiveness as a positive character strength

This study introduces the forgiveness concept, one of the positive character strengths, and forgiveness-oriented therapies to Turkish literature. The content of the literature review includes: the attempts to define for...

Structural equation models for prediction of subjective well-being: Modeling negative affect as a separate outcome

Diener’s recommendation that researchers assess well-being by combining scores on Satisfaction with Life (SWLS), positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) has been nearly universally adopted. Latent variables tha...

Relationship between patience as a character strength and psychological wellbeing

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between patience and psychological well-being. Selected by random sampling, participants were 1007 individuals (427 males, 580 females) who were between the age...

Effects of an Online Positive Psychotherapy Class on Future Counselors: Consensual Qualitative Research

The practice of positive psychotherapy holds great promise for inculcating in counselors the attributes most needed to positively impact client outcome. What follows are the results of a qualitative analysis investigati...

Psychometric properties of Turkish version of the Subjective Happiness Scale

The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) is a scale developed to evaluate the global subjective happiness. The objective of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of SHS in a community...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP15925
  • DOI -
  • Views 436
  • Downloads 24

How To Cite

Keith A. King, Rebecca A. Vidourek, Ashley L. Merianos, Meha Singh (2014). A study of stress, social support, and perceived happiness among college students. The Journal of Happiness and Well-Being, 2(2), 132-144. https://europub.co.uk./articles/-A-15925