Social problem-solving, life satisfaction and well-being among high school and university students

ABSTRACT

Students face several challenges when transitioning to a new school level. This necessitates an exploration of the personal features supporting their adjustment, which may provide valuable insights for intervention programs and counseling services at institutions. We employed a sample of 9th- to 10th-grade high school students (N = 255) and 1st- to 2nd-year university students (N = 320) and adopted a longitudinal design to examine the relation between their social problem-solving, life satisfaction and school well-being and how they change in a new institutional environment during the first year. The participants answered the Hungarian version of the Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised, the Negative Problem Orientation Questionnaire, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the School Well-being Questionnaire. The results revealed a similar pattern in social problem-solving and negative problem orientation among high school and university students. Positive problem orientation decreased while negative problem orientation and avoidance increased. Negative orientation toward social problems significantly affected life satisfaction and well-being in school. This study then discussed the implications of these findings for interventions supporting students’ social problem-solving and well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• Social problem-solving
• life satisfaction
• well-being in school
• longitudinal study
• adolescence
• young adulthood

Compliance with Ethical Standards

The work has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The submitted paper includes the results of our research. The manuscript has been seen and reviewed by all authors. On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest. We have parental permits: all children’s parents allowed pedagogical evaluation and they have also verified their participation in the study and the evaluation their children with their signature (based on Hungarian Ethical Norms for Psychologist).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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Additional information

Funding

The research was made possible in part through funding from the EFOP-3.6.1-16-2016-00008 EU co-financed project and László Kasik had a project (National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Hungary, K16–119591).

Notes on contributors

Zita Gál

Zita Gál Assistant lecturer at the University of Szeged. Research fields are social problem-solving and ToM. 

László Kasik

László Kasik Associate professor at the University of Szeged. Research fields are social problem-solving and negative orientation in adolescence.

Szilvia Jámbori

Szilvia Jámbori Assistant lecturer at the University of Szeged. Research field is adolescents' future orientation. 

József Balázs Fejes

József Balázs Fejes Assistant lecturer at the University of Szeged. Research field is social problem-solving of disadvantage students. 

Krisztina Nagy

Krisztina Nagy PhD student at the University of Szeged. Research field is school well-being.