Resilience and Spirituality as Predictors of Psychological Well-Being among University Students

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONIn today's world students are surrounded by multiple problems due to the high pace of ongoing competition. The university atmosphere presents loads of social and emotional challenges that affect the mental health as well as psychological well-being of students. Entering the university life involves a transitional phase where students shift from the stage of adolescence to adulthood. During this stage students are confronted with many changes in their lives as this phase is marked with a consistent worry between developing proficiency, attaining a target, struggling for autonomy, while trying to adapt to diverse environment. University transitions place individuals at risk of suffering ongoing significant life stress, anxiety and uncertainty (Tusaie and Dyer, 2004). Research has shown that the transition period from secondary to tertiary education is a crucial period that set the stage for student's success or failure in the later stage of their university life (Gall, Evans, and Bellarose, 2000).In the recent years, the psychological well-being of students has gained immense momentum. Huppert (2005) defined psychological well-being as being able to feel good about oneself and being able to function effectively. According to her, feeling good involves positive emotions, affection, confidence, interest and engagement. And being able to function effectively relates to utilizing one's potential, experiencing positive association with others and having a purpose to organize one's life. There is an increasing research interest in describing how psychological well-being is related to resilience and spirituality among students.Resilience has emerged as one of the most important factors that contribute towards the well-being of students. Resilience is defined as the capacity to adapt successfully in the presence of risk and adversity (Jensen and Fraser, 2005). The resilience of an individual depends upon how well he copes with the hardships of life. In a study carried out by Tripathi (2011), resilience was found to be the most significant predictor of employee well-being. Resilient individuals are generally able to maintain good mental health and have the capacity to recover more quickly from stressful events. Research reveals that resilient people enjoy good health and use more effective coping strategies in order to cope with stress (Singh and Pareek, 2007). Resilience has also been found to be associated with other variables like positive mood, positive self esteem and secure relationships (Smith, Tooley, Christopher and Kay, 2010). However, lack of internal resilience factors serves as a precursor to maladaptive behaviours that affects adolescent's health and well-being (Everall, Altrows and Paulson, 2006).Spirituality also plays an essential role in enhancing psychological well-being. Spirituality relates to inner, subjective experience that makes an individual feel a strong interest in understanding the meaning of things in life (Ellens, 2008). Spirituality is an capability of an individual to develop an innovative way of understanding one's own life. It is a universal phenomenon that has a direct impact on psychological well-being. Research shows that a significant positive relationship exists between spirituality and psychological well-being (Foskett, Marriott, and Wilson, 2004). Those who have stronger spiritual beliefs show better adjustment to life satisfaction (Koenig, 2007).The extent of existing researches reveals that although some studies have been conducted in this area, but still there lies paucity of researches that study psychological well-being in relation to resilience and spirituality. Keeping this in view, the present study was undertaken.OBJECTIVES* To examine the relationship between resilience, spirituality and psychological well-being among students.* To study the role of resilience and spirituality in predicting psychological well-being among students. …