COMPARISON OF THE LEVEL OF HAPPINESS IN A UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: The physical, mental and emotional well-being of people is related to happiness. The evaluation of happiness in university education institutions is relevant, since it allows monitoring the impact of educational policies on the well-being of the university community. In this sense, this study measured the level of happiness of a university community in Colombia, where few studies of this type have been carried out. Methods: A total of 827 people participated in the study (78 administrative staff, 70 teachers and 679 students). For the measurement of happiness, the Sophie test was applied, which was answered completely online. A multivariate analysis of variance and a bivariate correlation analysis were applied. No significant differences were found in the level of happiness with respect to sex and the mention of study of the participants (p > .05). When occupation is taken into account, teachers and administrators are happier than students (p < .05). Happiness was significantly correlated with age and happiness in their occupation (ps < .001). The lowest scale scores were in the area of physical health and external vision for all groups. Conclusions: The results affirm that the evaluated community has an adequate level of happiness, but that in the areas of physical health and external vision, changes need to be reviewed and applied, for the improvement of these indicators in the members of the university community.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Acar, Y. (2020). How important are social relations for happiness? Empirical evidence from Turkey. Equinox Journal of Economics Business and Political Studies, 7(1), Article 1.
Ansari, W. E., Oskrochi, R., & Haghgoo, G. (2014). Are students’ symptoms and health complaints associated with perceived stress at university? Perspectives from the United Kingdom and Egypt. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(10), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph111009981
Badri, M. A., Alkhaili, M., Aldhaheri, H., Alnahyan, H., Yang, G., Albahar, M., & Alrashdi, A. (2022). Understanding the interactions of happiness, self-rated health, mental feelings, habit of eating healthy and sport/activities: A path model for Abu Dhabi. Nutrients, 14(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14010055
Botello-Peñaloza, H.-A., & Guerrero-Rincón, I. (2021). Ingresos y felicidad: Paradoja de Easterlin en Colombia. Ánfora, 28(50), Article 50. https://doi.org/10.30854/anf.v28.n50.2021.696
Calderon, R., Pupanead, S., Prachakul, W., & Kim, G. (2021). Happiness, perceived stress, psychological well-being, and health behaviors of Thai university students: Preliminary results from a multinational study on well-being. Journal of American College Health, 69(2), 176-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1657871
Carrillo, S., Feijóo, M., Gutiérrez, A., & Schellekens, M. (2017). El papel de la dimensión colectiva en el estudio de la felicidad. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 26(1), 115-129. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v26n1.54624
Clark, A., Flèche, S., Layard, R., Powdthavee, N., & Ward, G. (2018). The origins of happiness: The science of well-being over the life course. En The Origins of Happiness. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400889129
Cotton, K., Hill, P. L., Lapsley, D. K., Talib, T. L., & Finch, H. (2009). Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 500-510. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903271439
Cruz, J., & Torres, J. (2006). ¿De qué depende la satisfacción subjetiva de los colombianos? Cuadernos de Economía, XXV(45), 131-154.
Demirbatir, R. E. (2015). Relationships between psychological well-being, happiness, and educational satisfaction in a group of university music students. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(15), 2198-2206.
Denovan, A., & Macaskill, A. (2017). Stress and subjective well-being among first year UK undergraduate students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18, 505-525. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10902-016-9736-Y
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542-575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542
Gómez, V., De Posada, C. V., Barrera, F., & Eduardo Cruz, J. (2007). Factores predictores de bienestar subjetivo en una muestra colombiana. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 39(2), 311-325.
Graham, C., & Pettinato, S. (2001). Happiness, markets, and democracy: Latin America in comparative perspective. Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being, 2, 237-268. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011860027447
Lobach, Y., González, A., Ceballos, C. L., Lezama, K., Cordero, J. C. G., Caballero, J. C., & Berlanga, M. del C. L. (2022). Propuesta de un instrumento para evaluar la felicidad: El Modelo Sophie. Journal of Physical Education and Human Movement, 4(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.24310/JPEHMjpehmjpehm.v4i115157
Londoño, J. (2011). Movilidad social, preferencias redistributivas y felicidad en Colombia. Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad. https://doi.org/10.13043/dys.68.6
Margot, J.-P. (2007). La felicidad. Praxis Filosófica, 25, 55-79.
Meier, A., & Edwards, H. (1974). Purpose-in-Life Test: Age and sex differences. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 30, 384-386. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(197407)30:3<384::AID-JCLP2270300351>3.0.CO;2-V
Moyano, E., & Ramos, N. (2007). Bienestar subjetivo: Midiendo satisfacción vital, felicidad y salud en población chilena de la Región Maule. Universum (Talca), 22(2), 177-193. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-23762007000200012
Mukaka, M. M. (2012). A guide to appropriate use of Correlation coefficient in medical research. Malawi Medical Journal : The Journal of Medical Association of Malawi, 24(3), 69.
Ortiz-Benavides, E. (2016). Bienestar y felicidad: Un estudio de datos panel en el Municipio de Pasto, Colombia 2008 - 2010. Universidad y Salud, 18(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.22267/rus.161801.22
Pfeiffer, D., & Cloutier, S. (2016). Planning for happy neighborhoods. Journal of the American Planning Association, 82(3), 267-279. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2016.1166347
Poveda, Ó. (2015). Felicidad en américa latina; algunos determinantes socioeconómicos. Revista de Antropología y Sociología : Virajes, 17(1), Article 1.
Quoidbach, J., Taquet, M., Desseilles, M., de Montjoye, Y.-A., & Gross, J. J. (2019). Happiness and social behavior. Psychological Science, 30(8), 1111-1122. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619849666
Ramírez, A. S. (2022). Niveles de felicidad: Revista Hojas y Hablas, 23, Article 23. http://revistas.unimonserrate.edu.co:8080/hojasyhablas/article/view/356
Reker, G., Peacock, E., & Wong, P. (1987). Meaning and purpose in life and well-being: A life-span perspective. Journal of Gerontology, 42(1), 44-49. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/42.1.44
Ridner, S. L., Newton, K. S., Staten, R. R., Crawford, T. N., & Hall, L. A. (2016). Predictors of well-being among college students. Journal of American College Health, 64(2), 116-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2015.1085057
Robak, R. W., & Griffin, P. W. (2000). Purpose in life: What is its relationship to happiness, depression, and grieving? North American Journal of Psychology, 2(1), 113-119.
Rojas-Solís, J. L., Méndez-Rizo, J., & Oyarzábal-Jiménez, M. L. C. (2022). Felicidad en estudiantes universitarios de América Latina: Una revisión sistemática (Happiness in Latin America college students: A systematic review). Psicumex, 12(1), 1-25.
Sabatini, F. (2014). The relationship between happiness and health: Evidence from Italy. Social Science & Medicine, 114, 178-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.024
Schnettler, B., Orellana, L., Lobos, G., Miranda, H., Sepúlveda, J., Etchebarne, S., Mora, M., Adasme-Berríos, C., & Grunert, K. G. (2015). Relación entre los dominios de la escala multidimensional de satisfacción con la vida, satisfacción con la alimentación y felicidad en estudiantes universitarios. Nutrición Hospitalaria, 31(6), 2752-2763. https://doi.org/10.3305/nh.2015.31.6.8593
Steptoe, A. (2019). Happiness and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 40(1), 339-359. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044150
Vallejo, L. (2021). Efectos de la reactivación económica en Colombia. Apuntes del Cenes, 39(70). http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0120-30532020000200001
Veenhoven, R. (s. f.). Rank report on happiness in Colombia (CO). World Database of Happiness, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/nations/colombia-122/
Veenhoven, R. (1991). Is happiness relative? Social Indicators Research, 24(1), 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00292648
Vega, L. M., & Osorio, A. N. (2016). Economía de la felicidad: Bienestar subjetivo y objetivo. Ploutos, 6(2), Article 2.
Velado, L. A. (2014). Filosofía y psicología de la felicidad: Aplicaciones educativas. Educación y Futuro Digital, 9 (Mayo), 3-16.
Zweig, J. S. (2015). Are women happier than men? Evidence from the Gallup World Poll. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(2), 515-541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9521-8