Bem-estar subjetivo dos estudantes universitários: uma análise do caso USP

Abstract

This present work is part of a larger study that aims to describe and analyze the "Limits and possibilities for the good living of black students in higher education institutions". Its specific object is the investigation of Subjective Well-Being (SWB) of black and nonblack students, describing and analyzing aspects such as satisfaction with life and positive and negative effects. Until now, there were no SWB studies in the Brazilian context that included the race category in their analyses. This is an exploratory investigation based on the collection and analysis of data on SWB from black and non-black students at USP, to deepen and complement the analyzes and results for the larger study. The data were analyzed according to sex-gender, race, and students' income, to produce a diagnosis of possible differences among the university experiences of students according to these social markers. It was found that the adoption of policies to encourage access to Higher Education changed the ethnic-racial composition of students at the University, but not its way of operating, where exclusion mechanisms only became more subtle, although no less perverse. This study is in line with the commitment to achieve greater justice and social equity, contributing to the training of researchers and psychologists constantly challenged by the construction of a society free of inequalities, discrimination, racism, and its psychosocial effects. Changes must take place from different fronts, including the University itself. By providing data that allow a diagnosis of the levels of subjective Well-Being and the experiences of the students investigated here, we can contribute to the adoption of measures that effectively provide the right to access University and to good living.