A cross-sectional study of university students' wellbeing: What to focus on?

Abstract

The university represents an environment rich in both risks and opportunities. The health of university students is a complex issue, and it was even more challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to expand existing literature findings by investigating the role of sociodemographic, individual, and contextual factors on health outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted: an online survey was distributed to Italian univer-sity students (N = 614) in 2020. Two hierarchical regression models were conducted using with Wellbeing and Health complaints as outcomes. Predictors included sex, subjective socio-economic status, future anxiety, Sense of Coherence (SoC), Digital Health Literacy (DHLI) and University satisfaction. The results were partially in line with previous literature. Sociodemographic variables appeared to have a small role in predicting health outcomes. Being female was associated with more Health complaints, while no difference in Wellbeing emerged. The addition of individual variables improved both models significantly. In line with other studies, FA showed a nega-tive association with health outcomes, while SoC showed a positive association. University satisfaction showed a protective association with both outcomes. Future Anxiety presented the strongest associations, while DHLI had no association with health outcomes. This confirmed the literature's findings that different factors can influence university stu-dents' wellbeing and that universities can have an important role in promoting it.