Dimensions of Psychological Well-being and Subjective Happiness in the New Normal: An Exploration

From FIIB Business Review

The pandemic has brought unprecedented changes in societies across the globe. It has altered the equilibrium and forced individuals to move out of their comfort zone, leading to disturbance in psychological well-being in the new normal. 

This study examines the effect of psychological well-being (PWB) on the subjective happiness (SH) of students of higher educational institutions (HEIs) during the global pandemic. A total of 290 students of HEIs were administered with the PWB questionnaire and SH questionnaire. The relationship between the variables was examined using multiple regression. The results indicated that the SH levels of the sample were above average. SH was found to be more in women. No gender difference was found in PWB levels. The findings also revealed that improving PWB will positively influence the SH .

Well-being is defined as ‘a state of happiness and contentment, with low levels of distress, overall good physical and mental health and outlook, or good quality of life’ (American Psychological Association, n.d.). Subjective happiness (SH) can be defined as ‘an overall subjective assessment of whether a person is happy or unhappy’ (Satici, 2016). It differs from objective happiness, which is perceived as ‘a utility within a specific point in time’ (Kahneman, 1999).

The findings validate that while recent life events influence SH, individuals tend to return to natural set point over time. Study findings can help in strategizing the student counselling process as well as curriculum design of HEI to ensure greater SH of its stakeholders. Clinically recognizable psychological stress was identified as an after-effect of the pandemic.

In the sample of higher education institutions (HEIs), participants showed a high level of anxiety due to financial reasons, lack of clarity on future career prospects, challenges of online learning, and unpredictability of academic options.

Activities such as expressing thankfulness, acts of compassion, appreciating, optimism, have been shown to promote happiness among individuals. Personal growth initiatives are positively associated with indicators of well-being and negatively related to psychological distress.

Gender is found to affect the dependent and independent variables differently. Males scored higher than females in some of the dimensions of PWB such as Self-acceptance and Autonomy, while women scored higher in self-growth and positive relationships with others, according to Matud et al. (2019).

In conclusion, the hypothesized model based on the theoretical framework was statistically validated. For the individual’s PWB, the impact of terminal variables on happiness has been explored. Examining the hypothesized model for the gender groups helps in determining the effect PWB on happiness. This can be further used for psychological counselling where the dimensions that contribute more to the happiness for girl students can be identified and this knowledge can be leveraged by the counsellors during the counselling sittings and therapies can be suggested accordingly.

Consequently, students of HEIs should have a supportive environment that enhances their well-being during their transition and early adulthood for successful personal and professional growth. Given that students spend a considerable amount of time at institutions, guidance programs can serve as an asset for students’ mental health. It is a well-recognized fact that meeting the basic psychological needs of high school students is critical to their subjective well-being (Eryilmaz, 2012). In this context, it can be concluded that a supportive school environment where the policymakers and administration staff, teachers, and student counsellors work in tandem to meet the specific psychological needs of students will lead to an increase in students’ well-being.

Article details
Dimensions of Psychological Well-being and Subjective Happiness in the New Normal: An Exploration
Uma Warrier, Dilip D., Heena Jain, Kakul Agha
First Published December 11, 2021 Research Article
DOI: 10.1177/23197145211062975
From FIIB Business Review