Happiness and health behaviours among university students from 24 low, middle and high income countries

Peltzer, Karl; Pengpid, Supa; Sodi, Tholene; Toloza, Sonia Carolina Mantilla

doi:10.1080/14330237.2016.1219556

Cited by 16 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…26 27 A study across 24 countries in Asia, Africa and America among university students showed that happiness was positively linked to health behaviours such as physical activity. 24 Higher happiness was associated with lower stress, a healthy diet and exercise in middle-aged Korean adults. 28 A 2008 longitudinal study showed that psychological well-being predicted health behaviours, such as eating fruits and vegetables, independent of depressive symptoms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Unlike emotional well-being, referring to feelings of happiness and life satisfaction, psychological well-being refers to self-realisation. 24 Interestingly, social well-being, referring to the functioning of the individual within the society, was not a significant factor of compliance. This could possibly suggest that being compliant is more related to feelings of fulfilment and purpose than to community functioning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Factors associated with high compliance behaviour against COVID-19 in the early phase of pandemic: a cross-sectional study in 12 Asian countries

et al. 2021

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IntroductionRegardless of having effective vaccines against COVID-19, containment measures such as enhanced physical distancing and good practice of personal hygiene remain the mainstay of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries across Asia have imposed these containment measures to varying extents. However, residents in different countries would have a differing degree of compliance to these containment measures potentially due to differences in the level of awareness and motivation in the early phase of pandemic.ObjectivesIn our study, we aimed to describe and correlate the level of knowledge and attitude with the level of compliance with personal hygiene and physical distancing practices among Asian countries in the early phase of pandemic.MethodsA multinational cross-sectional study was carried out using electronic surveys between May and June 2020 across 14 geographical areas. Subjects aged 21 years and above were invited to participate through social media, word of mouth and electronic mail.ResultsAmong the 2574 responses obtained, 762 (29.6%) participants were from East Asia and 1812 (70.4%) were from Southeast Asia (SEA). A greater proportion of participants from SEA will practise physical distancing as long as it takes (72.8% vs 60.6%). Having safe distancing practices such as standing more than 1 or 2 m apart (AdjOR 5.09 95% CI (1.08 to 24.01)) or more than 3 or 4 m apart (AdjOR 7.05 95% CI (1.32 to 37.67)), wearing a mask when they had influenza-like symptoms before the COVID-19 pandemic, preferring online news channels such as online news websites/applications (AdjOR 1.73 95% CI (1.21 to 2.49)) and social media (AdjOR 1.68 95% CI (1.13 to 2.50) as sources of obtaining information about COVID-19 and high psychological well-being (AdjOR 1.39 95% CI (1.04 to 1.87)) were independent factors associated with high compliance.ConclusionsWe found factors associated with high compliance behaviour against COVID-19 in the early phase of pandemic and it will be useful to consider them in risk assessment, communication and pandemic preparedness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Factors associated with high compliance behaviour against COVID-19 in the early phase of pandemic: a cross-sectional study in 12 Asian countries

et al. 2021

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“…Since subjective happiness is one's personal perception about his or her state of happiness (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), it may be less surprising that people possessing high emotional intelligence also report greater subjective happiness, subjective well-being and life-satisfaction (Geng, 2016;Larsen, 2000;Ruiz-Aranda, Extremera, & Pineda-Galán, 2014). Students with high levels of subjective happiness also might have a superior sense of personal growth initiative Peltzer, Pengpid, Sodi, & Mantilla Toloza, 2017).…”

Section: Emotional Intelligence and Subjective Happinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional intelligence and personal growth initiative effects on subjective happiness among university students

Kugbey

Atefoe

Anakwah³

et al. 2018

Journal of Psychology in Africa

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This study examined emotional intelligence and personal growth initiative influences on the level of subjective happiness among university students in Ghana. A total of 260 undergraduate students were participants (female = 69.8%, mean age = 21.72, SD = 3.61Years). They responded to measures of emotional intelligence, personal growth initiative and subjective happiness. Results following hierarchical regression analysis indicate emotional intelligence and intentional behaviour domain of personal growth to predict students' level of subjective happiness after controlling for their demographic characteristics. These findings suggest that students' ability to manage and utilize their emotions as well as their personal growth initiative contribute significantly to their level of happiness.

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“…This economic factor is particularly pertinent in the landscape of South African universities, which have become increasingly accessible to individuals from lower income strata and which therefore house more and more students who battle financial stressors as they attempt to graduate (Lekena & Bayaga, 2018). Moreover, the manner and frequency with which students tend to use technology and social media correlates with disrupted sleep quality, less social interaction, and a sedentary lifestyle, each of which is a risk factor for manifestation and maintenance of depressive symptoms and, in some cases, suicidal ideation (Lawson et al, 2019; Peltzer et al, 2017; Wei-Lin & Jen-Hao, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms among undergraduate students at a South African University, 2016–2019

Rousseau

Thompson

Pileggi

et al. 2020

South African Journal of Psychology

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University students are particularly vulnerable to mood disorders. This vulnerability may be increasing, with recent investigations reporting sharp rises in the prevalence of depression and other psychiatric disorders. Moreover, previous studies indicate that first-year undergraduates tend to show more depression and suicidal ideation than students in subsequent years. However, most studies in the extant literature emerge from high-income countries in the global north; relatively few focus on university students in low- and middle-income countries such as South Africa. Because students in low- and middle-income countries are more likely to be exposed to crime and trauma, and less likely to have easily accessible mental health services, they might be at even higher risk for developing mood disorders than their counterparts in high-income countries. Furthermore, most previous studies of mental health in university students analyse cross-sectional data and therefore cannot comment on longitudinal patterns in the data. To fill these knowledge gaps, the current study aimed to describe recent trends in depression and suicidal ideation among South African university students. We analysed both archival ( n = 2593) and original ( n = 499) Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition reports, sampled between 2016 and 2019. As expected, depression and suicidal ideation scores increased significantly over time, and first-year students reported significantly more depression and suicidal ideation than students in subsequent years of study. These findings suggest that preventive interventions during sensitive periods of undergraduate study are imperative and provide a foundation for treatment strategies tailored to the needs of the most vulnerable South African students.

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Happiness and health behaviours among university students from 24 low, middle and high income countries

Cited by 16 publications

References 37 publications

Factors associated with high compliance behaviour against COVID-19 in the early phase of pandemic: a cross-sectional study in 12 Asian countries

Factors associated with high compliance behaviour against COVID-19 in the early phase of pandemic: a cross-sectional study in 12 Asian countries

Emotional intelligence and personal growth initiative effects on subjective happiness among university students

Trends in the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms among undergraduate students at a South African University, 2016–2019

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