Joining a Social Club or Buying a Planner? : What predicts subjective wellbeing amongst Swedish university students?

Sammanfattning: Research suggests that university students are at risk for developing psychiatric symptoms, but there is a lack of research targeting wellbeing amongst students in Sweden. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between social- and cognitive resilience factors and subjective wellbeing in university students in Sweden. Participants were 396 full-time students. The protective factors, measured by means of the test Scale of Protective Factors (SPF-24), social support, social skills, planning and prioritising behaviour and goal efficacy, were entered into a multiple regression analysis (MRA) with subjective wellbeing, measured by the test Personal Wellbeing Index Adult (PWI-A), as the criterion variable. A significant model emerged with an explanatory power of 41%, indicating that social support, social skills and goal efficacy were significant predictors of subjective wellbeing. Furthermore, employed students rated their goal efficacy higher than unemployed students, and females rated their resilience higher than males. Moreover, results indicate that females and males, as well as students who studied at university to different extents, have similar levels of social support, goal efficacy and wellbeing. Limitations and implementations are discussed.