Satisfaction with life among university students from nine countries: Cross-national study during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Public Health

Marco J. Held¹  Astrid Schütz¹  Ivana Blažková²  Joy Benatov³  Iuliia Pavlova⁴  Zdeňka Konečná⁵  Orhan Çınar⁶  Monika Jakubiak⁷  Ana Arzenšek⁸  Dominika Ochnik⁹  Cezary Kuśnierz^1,10  Imran Aslan^1,11  Aleksandra M. Rogowska^1,12  Yonni Angel Cuero-Acosta^1,13  Elena V. Korchagina^1,14  Rony Berger^1,15 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Bamberg, 96047, Bamberg, Germany;Department of Regional and Business Economics, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Special Education, University of Haifa, 3498838, Haifa, Israel;Department of Theory and Methods of Physical Culture, Lviv State University of Physical Culture, 79007, Lviv, Ukraine;Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, 612 00, Brno, Czech Republic;Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Ataturk University, 25240, Erzurum, Turkey;Faculty of Economics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, 20-031, Lublin, Poland;Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, 6101, Koper, Slovenia;Faculty of Medicine, University of Technology, 40-555, Katowice, Poland;Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, 45-758, Opole, Poland;Health Management Department, Bingöl University, 12000, Bingöl, Turkey;Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, 45-052, Opole, Poland;School of Management, Universidad del Rosario, 111711, Bogotá, PC, Colombia;St. Petersburg School of Economics and Management, HSE University, 194100, St. Petersburg, Russia;Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251, St. Petersburg, Russia;The Center for Compassionate Mindful Education, 69106, Tel Aviv, Israel;Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel-Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel;

关键词: Cross-national study;    University and college students;    Satisfaction with life;    Exposure to COVID-19;    Perceived negative impact of coronavirus on life;    Physical activity;    Gender differences;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-12288-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundA cross-sectional study was performed to examine life satisfaction differences between university students from nine countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-national comparison of the association between life satisfaction and a set of variables was also conducted.MethodsParticipants in the study were 2349 university students with a mean age of 23 years (M = 23.15, SD = 4.66). There was a predominance of women (69.26%) and individuals studying at the bachelor level (78%). The research was conducted between May and July 2020 in nine countries: Slovenia (n=209), the Czech Republic (Czechia)(n=308), Germany (n=267), Poland (n=301), Ukraine (n=310), Russia (n=285), Turkey (n=310), Israel (n=199), and Colombia (n=153). Participants completed an online survey involving measures of satisfaction with life (SWLS), exposure to COVID-19, perceived negative impact of coronavirus (PNIC) on students' well-being, general self-reported health (GSRH), physical activity (PA), and some demographics (gender, place of residence, level of study). A one-way ANOVA was used to explore cross-national differences in life satisfaction. The χ2 independence test was performed separately in each country to examine associations between life satisfaction and other variables. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify life satisfaction predictors among a set of demographic and health-related variables in each of the nine countries.ResultsThe level of life satisfaction varied between university students from the nine countries. The results for life satisfaction and the other variables differed between countries. Numerous associations were noted between satisfaction with life and several variables, and these showed cross-national differences. Distinct predictors of life satisfaction were observed for each country. However, poor self-rated physical health was a predictor of low life satisfaction independent of the country.ConclusionsThe association between life satisfaction and subjective assessment of physical health seems to be universal, while the other variables are related to cross-cultural differences. Special public health attention should be focused on psychologically supporting people who do not feel healthy.

【 授权许可】

CC BY