2014 NASPA ANNUAL CONFERENCEMARCH 17 T H 2014

PENNY RUE, PHD, VICE-PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT LIFEANDY CHAN, VICE-PRESIDENT, PERSONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

ERANDA JAYAWICKREME, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, PSYCHOLOGYSARA DAHILL-BROWN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, POLITICS & INT’L

AFFAIRS

Student Well-Being: What Do We Measure?

Our Agenda Well-being as a crucial outcome of education

◦ Mental health issues on college campuses

The challenge◦ A model of student well-being◦ Evidence-based AND actionable

Our model◦ Six dimensions

Discussion◦ Key question: do the dimensions capture a complete picture of student well-

being?

Well-Being: An Outcome of Education

Well-being should arguably be the ultimate outcome of education (Layard)◦ Well-being - peoples’ positive evaluations of their lives◦ Why focus on well-being?◦ How is well-being achieved– and what is our role?

The challenge: what is student well-being?

Well-being is multi-dimensional◦ Multiple models (Jayawickreme, Forgeard & Seligman, 2012; Swarbrick, 2010)

Student assessments relevant to well-being do already exist◦ Good start, but need to go further

No comprehensive student well-being model◦ Sensitive to specific development status of young adults◦ Challenge of quantifying the “value” of college

Swarbrick’s (2010) wellness domains

Well-Being Mediators: Skills, Habits, Behaviors, Attitudes,

Beliefs, Expectations, and Resources

Well-being Outcomes

Pre-College Inputs

Family, School, and Community

College Environment

Admissions & RecruitingFirst Year ExperienceAcademic ExperienceSocial ClimatePersonal and Professional DevelopmentPost-Graduate Connections

A model of student well-being Goal of current project

◦ Develop a dynamic, multi-dimensional, deep longitudinal assessment of WFU students’ and alumni holistic development and wellbeing.

◦ Identify an exhaustive list of dimensions that capture student well-being

Two criteria for selecting well-being dimensions◦ Dimensions should have a substantive empirical base of research supporting its successful

assessment and utility◦ Dimensions should be actionable– i.e. colleges should ideally be able to effect changes on

students’ standing on these dimensions

Our proposed model

Student Well-Being

Emotional Well-Being

Subjective Well-Being Meaning/Purpose

Relational Well-Being

Belongingness Commitment to Others

Intellectual Well-Being

Grit/Perseverance

Physical Well-Being

Physical Vitality

Subjective Well-Being (SWB) Subjective reports of positive emotions and life-satisfaction, and assess how people feel and think about their quality of life.

Sample items:◦ “In most ways my life is close to my ideal” ◦ “I am satisfied with my life”◦ “I feel negative most of the time”◦ “I am satisfied with my college life”

Emotional Wellbeing

Meaning/ Purpose More intimately connected with eudaimonia (well-being derived not from pursuing momentary desires but those experiences that promote growth and wellness) (Ryan & Deci, 2001).

Purpose in Life is defined as “having beliefs that give the individual the feeling that there is purpose in and meaning to life” (Ryff, 1989).

Sample items:◦ “I am optimistic about my future” ◦ “I know what gives meaning to my life” ◦ “My life has a clear sense of purpose”◦ “I am engaged and interested in my daily activities” Emotional Wellbeing

Belongingness Multi-dimensional construct

◦ Sensitive to factors such as social identity and social environment◦ Significant predictor of important outcomes, including academic achievement and health outcomes (e.g.

Cohen, 2014).◦ Can be operationalized to measure sense of belonging in academic and social settings.

Sample Items◦ Social Support

◦ “There are people who give me support and encouragement“◦ “I often feel left out”

◦ School Belongingness◦ “I feel a sense of belonging in my school”◦ “I feel that I belong in the ______ classroom” Relational Wellbeing

Commitment to Others Importance of good citizenship

People with universalist values are high in dispositional empathy, moral reasoning, moral identity and universalist values (McFarland. Webb & Brown, 2013).

Sample items:◦ “I am a good person and live a good life” ◦ “I want to be a responsible citizen of the world”◦ “The things I do contribute to my community”

Relational Wellbeing

Grit/ Perseverance Perseverance and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007).

◦ Interest in developing interventions to promote and increase this trait◦ Grit may be hard to shift, but possible movement on domain-specific questions

Sample items◦ Grit

◦ “Setbacks do not discourage me”◦ “I finish whatever I started”

◦ Academic Grit◦ I know what to do to be successful when confronted with difficult academic tasks.◦ I focus on the academic strengths I have rather than try to work on my weaknesses.

Intellectual Wellbeing

Physical Vitality Importance of recognizing link between physical health and well-being

Sample items:◦ “In general, how would you say your health is?” ◦ “How many times do you exercise per week?”◦ “How many hours of sleep do you typically get each night?”

Physical Wellbeing

Our proposed model compared with Swarbrink’s

Higher-Order Dimensions(Swabrick Dimensions Listed in Italics)

• Emotional Well-Being• Mental, Spiritual

• Relational Well-Being• Social, Environmental, Ethical

• Intellectual Well-Being• Occupational, Financial

• Physical Well-Being• Physical

Dimensions to Measure

• Emotional Well-Being• Subjective Well-Being (Life Satisfaction, Domain

Satisfaction, Affect Balance)• Meaning/ Purpose (including career and

vocation-specific beliefs)• Relational Well-Being

• Belongingness (social, academic)• Commitment to Others

• Intellectual Well-Being• Grit/ Perseverance

• Physical Well-Being• Physical Vitality

Breakout Session Key Questions:

◦ Do these dimensions resonate with your understanding of student growth and development?

◦ How does the way in which we ask about well-being differ in the post-college environment?

◦ What dimensions would you add to this list?

◦ Would this measurement strategy be helpful to you in your professional practice?

◦ Are there people in your institution who could contribute to this conversation?

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McFarland, S., Brown, D. & Webb, M. (2013). Identification With All Humanity as a Moral Concept and Psychological Construct. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22, 194-198.

Pryor, J. H. (2013). Using CIRP Surveys at Wake Forest University: Informing The Wellbeing Initiative, Professional development presentation at Wake Forest University, August 23, 2013.