Abstract

NOGUEIRA, Maria José  and  SEQUEIRA, Carlos. Academic life satisfaction: Relation with well-being and psychological distress. Revista Portuguesa de Enfermagem de Saúde Mental [online]. 2018, n.spe6, pp.71-76. ISSN 1647-2160.  https://doi.org/10.19131/rpesm.0216.

CONTEXT: Satisfaction with academic life (SAL) encompasses a multifactorial concept that covers all the students' experiences related to their life in the academic environment, showing the quality of their adaptation to it. In addition, SAL is an important indicator of student´s well-being. The studies show a positive relationship between SAL, well-being and mental health. However, in Portugal little is known about this relationship. Therefore, we consider relevant to study this theme. OBJECTIVE: (1) to describe the SAL of students of higher education; (2) to study the relationship between SAL and welfare and psychological distress. METHOD: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study. The non-probabilistic sample are students of first cycle higher education´s Lisbon District, enrolled in 1st and 2nd year. Participants gave informed written consent and voluntarily completed an online survey, which was sent to campus e-mail, between October and November 2015. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic, SAL and mental health information from the students. Study variables, include Satisfaction with Academic Life Scale (SALE) and the Mental Health Inventory (ISM). All principles and ethical aspects have been guaranteed. RESULTS: The results indicate that participants have high satisfaction with academic life and satisfactory levels of mental health. Correlational analyzes show that SALE correlates positively and significantly with Psychological Well-Being and negatively with Psychological Distress. It is verified that the higher values of SAL are associated with higher values of Psychological Welfare and lower values of Psychological Distress. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that SAL is positively associated with Psychological Well-Being and negatively on Psychological Distress, and is a predictor of Psychological Well-Being. This information is relevant to define the nature and type of intervention required in the logic of health promotion contexts.

Keywords : Quality of life; Mental health; Students.

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