DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF WELL-BEING AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Abstract

Well-being was assessed using an author-developed questionnaire based on the theoretical PERMA model. A total of 304 university students participated in the study and were grouped according to age and current study/employment status. The largest group consisted of participants aged 18–24 years (n = 181). The 25–29 age group included 24 students, while 99 students were aged 30–35 years. The questionnaire comprised a total of 21 items—four for each component of well-being and one item assessing subjective overall well-being. For each item, participants indicated the extent to which each statement applied to them using a five-point Likert scale. Reverse-worded items were reverse-scored so that, after recoding, higher scores on all items reflected higher levels of well-being. The reliability of the overall PERMA scale was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The obtained value of α = 0.909 indicated very high internal consistency. A comparison of the five PERMA components revealed a relatively consistent pattern across all groups. The highest scores were observed for positive relationships, reaching 4.10 among participants aged 18–24 years, 3.89 among those aged 25–29 years, and 4.21 among those aged 30–35 years. In the oldest age group, all components were at a high level, with scores ranging from 4.01 to 4.21. In contrast, participants aged 25–29 years showed the lowest scores across all components, particularly for meaning (3.71) and positive emotions (3.75). Overall, students reported having goals and being willing to invest effort in achieving them, while also experiencing difficulties in maintaining sustained motivation. The overall PERMA index confirmed the trends observed for the individual components. The highest mean score was found among participants aged 30–35 years (4.10), corresponding to a high level of well-being. The index was 3.97 in the 18–24 age group and 3.80 among participants aged 25–29 years. With regard to current study/employment status, the results were virtually identical: 4.00 among students engaged exclusively in their studies and 3.99 among those combining study and employment. Although these comparisons do not demonstrate statistically significant differences between the groups, they indicate a tendency toward more strongly expressed positive relationships among students and lower levels of engagement and achievement striving. Differences according to current study/employment status were negligible, indicating similar levels of well-being among students regardless of whether they combined work and study or were engaged exclusively in their studies.