Social-emotional health in higher education: a psychometric evaluation with Turkish students

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the utility and validity of the Social Emotional Health Survey-Higher Education (SEHS-HE) among Turkish students (N = 345) in higher education. Confirmatory factor analysis found acceptable data-model fit statistics for a priori SEHS-HE latent measurement models and its second-order covitality latent construct. The covitality latent construct was associated with higher levels of mental wellbeing, higher academic achievement, and lower levels of psychological symptoms. Findings provided preliminary evidence supporting the use of the SEHS-HE to measure Turkish university students' social-emotional strengths. Research is needed to further evaluate how the SEHS-HE can be used to inform prevention and intervention services on university campuses that aim to improve students' social, emotional, and mental health and wellbeing.

KEYWORDS:

• Social-emotional health
• covitality
• mental wellbeing
• psychological adjustment
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gökmen Arslan

Gökmen Arslan, PhD, is a Lecturer at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University in Burdur, Turkey. His research interests are focused on developing and validating measurement and intervention methods for promoting well-being and mental health in schools.

Kelly-Ann Allen

Dr Kelly-Ann Allen is an endorsed Educational and Developmental Psychologist, and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University, Australia, and Fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists. Dr Allen is also a Senior Honorary fellow of the Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Bülent Baki Telef

Bülent Baki Telef, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey. His research interests focus on school-based mental health strategies that promote student well-being.

Heather Craig

Heather Craig graduated from La Trobe University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Psychological Science, Honours. Heather is now a PhD candidate at Monash University, Australia, at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.