Social Correlates of Psychological Well-Being Among Undergraduate Students in Mysore City

This study explores the impacts of social factors on psychological well-being mainly, gender, educational levels of parents, family income, occupation of parents, and family relationships. The research methodology I employed was guided by random sampling techniques; I selected two hundred eighty students, between the ages of, 19 and 22, from both genders, and different socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. These students were selected from a total of 8 governmental and private colleges in Mysore. I prepared a structured questionnaire for gathering the demographic information and assessing relevant social factors. To measure psychological well-being, I administered Ryff’s psychological well-being scales (Ryff in J Pers Soc Psychol 57(6):1069–1081, 1989). I used frequencies, distribution, and contingency coefficient to describe the variables such as, age, gender, education, religion, income, occupation and their association with type of colleges The data were statistically tested through a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Post Hoc Test (Duncan’s Multiple Range Test) and a t test using (SPSS, version 16). The findings of this quantitative study reveal that there were no gender differences in relation to psychological well-being of students. Educational levels of parents, occupation, income, and family relationships impact students’ psychological well-being. This study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, my work explores multiple social factors in tandem, instead of focusing on one social factor. Second, the current study probes into better understanding of the sociological issues that are related to characteristics of psychological well-being, particularly that of young college -age women and men. This research is supported by previous studies related to the psychological well-being.