Mindfulness, school connectedness, perceived social support and psychological well-being of University Students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the level of psychological wellbeing among undergraduates in the Faculty of Arts and Education, Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria. Also, the relationship between some predictor variables (mindfulness, school connectedness and perceived social support) and psychological well-being among the students were studied. The study adopted the descriptive research design of survey type. One hundred and sixty students were selected using the multistage sampling technique. Data for the research were generated with the use of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, School connectedness Scale, Perceived social support scale and Psychological wellbeing Scale. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson’s product moment correlation and multiple regression analyses. The results showed that the majority of the university students have high psychological well-being. All the three independent variables (mindfulness (r =.326, P<.05), school connectedness (r =.307, P<.05) and social support (r =.487, P<.05) had significant relationship with the dependent variable (psychological well-being). The joint contribution of the independent variables to the prediction of psychological well-being was also significant (F_{(3, 157)}=17.224; R²=.234; P<.05). This means that 23.4% of the variance in the respondents’ psychological well-being was accounted for by the three predictor variables when taken together. The result further revealed that only perceived social support, of the three predictor variables, made significant relative contribution to the prediction of psychological well-being of university students. University students should hone their relational competencies, in order to draw strength from family, friends and significant others so they can enjoy optimal psychological and social wellness.

Key words: Mindfulness, School connectedness, Perceived social support, Psychological wellbeing of university students