A Predictive Exploration of What Uplifts or Undermines Young Adults’ Quality of Life
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/SR25.110Keywords:
Academic Stress, Effective Coping Strategies, Excessive Social Media Use, Perfectionism, Quality of Life, Resilience, Self-esteem, Sleep Quality, Social SupportAbstract
This study aimed to identify key risk and protective factors that predict the quality of life among young adults. A cross-sectional survey of 900 individuals aged 18–25 employed validated assessment tools and neural network analysis through SPSS-24 to determine the most influential predictors. The results highlighted that perfectionism (Importance=0.97; 23.5%) and excessive social media use (0.87; 21.0%) were the strongest risk factors negatively impacting quality of life, while social support (0.415; 48.7%), resilience (0.20; 48.7%), and effective coping strategies (0.127; 30.6%) emerged as the top protective factors. Overall, the findings underscore the significant roles these variables play in shaping young adults' well-being, with social support and resilience positively influencing, and perfectionism and social media use detracting from, quality of life.
References
Aboalshamat, K., Alsiyud, A., Al‑Sayed, R., Alreddadi, R., Faqiehi, S., & Almehmadi, S. (2018). The relationship between resilience, happiness, and life satisfaction in dental and medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Nigerian journal of clinical practice, 21(8), 1038-1043. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/njcp/article/view/175761
Abulfaraj, G. G., Upsher, R., Zavos, H. M., & Dommett, E. J. (2024). The impact of resilience interventions on university students’ mental health and well-being: a systematic review. Education Sciences, 14(5), 510. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14050510
Acosta-Gonzaga, E. (2023). The effects of self-esteem and academic engagement on university students’ performance. Behavioral Sciences, 13(4), 348. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13040348
Akther, F. (2023). EXPLORING SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH. Eduvest: Journal Of Universal Studies, 3(10). https://doi.org/10.59188/eduvest.v3i10.932
Allen, R. S., Dorman, H. R., Henkin, H., Carden, K. D., & Potts, D. (2018). Definition of resilience. Resilience in aging: concepts, research, and outcomes, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04555-5_1
Arshad, M., Zaidi, S. M. I. H., & Mahmood, K. (2015). Self-esteem & academic performance among university students. Journal of education and practice, 6(1), 156-162.
Bedewy, D., & Gabriel, A. (2015). Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale. Health psychology open, 2(2), 2055102915596714. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102915596714
Beutel, M. E., Klein, E. M., Brähler, E., Reiner, I., Jünger, C., Michal, M., Wiltink, J., Wild, P. S., Münzel, T., & Lackner, K. J. (2017). Loneliness in the general population: prevalence, determinants and relations to mental health. BMC psychiatry, 17, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1262-x
Bilgin, O., & Taş, İ. (2018). Effects of perceived social support and psychological resilience on social media addiction among university students. Universal journal of educational research. http://dx.doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2018.060418
Bogardus, J., Armstrong, E. S., VanOss, T., & Brown, D. J. (2022). Stress, anxiety, depression, and perfectionism among graduate students in health sciences programs. Journal of allied health, 51(1), 15E-25E. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asahp/jah/2022/00000051/00000001/art00017
Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’too long: Consider the brief cope. International journal of behavioral medicine, 4(1), 92-100. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0401_6
Chen, C., Bian, F., & Zhu, Y. (2023). The relationship between social support and academic engagement among university students: the chain mediating effects of life satisfaction and academic motivation. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 2368. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17301-3
Civitci, A. (2015). Perceived stress and life satisfaction in college students: Belonging and extracurricular participation as moderators. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 205, 271-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.09.077
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of personality assessment, 49(1), 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
Egan, S. J., Wade, T. D., & Shafran, R. (2011). Perfectionism as a transdiagnostic process: A clinical review. Clinical psychology review, 31(2), 203-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.04.009
Erol, S., Gur, K., Karaca, S., Çalık, K. B., Uzuner, A., & Kaya, Ç. A. (2022). Risk factors affecting the mental health of first-year university students on a health sciences campus and related factors. The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, 18(2), 146-157. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-03-2022-0015
Etikan, I., & Bala, K. (2017). Sampling and sampling methods. Biometrics & Biostatistics International Journal, 5(6), 00149.
Freire, C., Ferradás, M. D. M., Valle, A., Núñez, J. C., & Vallejo, G. (2016). Profiles of psychological well-being and coping strategies among university students. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1554. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01554
Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive therapy and research, 14, 449-468. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172967
Gattino, S., Rollero, C., & De Piccoli, N. (2015). The influence of coping strategies on quality of life from a gender perspective. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 10, 689-701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-014-9348-9
Gilman, R., Ashby, J. S., Sverko, D., Florell, D., & Varjas, K. (2005). The relationship between perfectionism and multidimensional life satisfaction among Croatian and American youth. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(1), 155-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.12.014
Group, W. (1998). Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychological medicine, 28(3), 551-558. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291798006667
Higley, E. (2019). Defining young adulthood.
Holahan, C. J., Moos, R. H., Holahan, C. K., Brennan, P. L., & Schutte, K. K. (2005). Stress generation, avoidance coping, and depressive symptoms: a 10-year model. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 73(4), 658. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2005-11147-009
Jasso-Medrano, J. L., & López-Rosales, F. (2018). Measuring the relationship between social media use and addictive behavior and depression and suicide ideation among university students. Computers in human behavior, 87, 183-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.003
Kline, C. E. (2020). Sleep quality. In Encyclopedia of behavioral medicine (pp. 2064-2066). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_849-2
Lemma, S., Gelaye, B., Berhane, Y., Worku, A., & Williams, M. A. (2012). Sleep quality and its psychological correlates among university students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. BMC psychiatry, 12, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-12-237
Longenecker, R., Zink, T., & Florence, J. (2012). Teaching and learning resilience: building adaptive capacity for rural practice. A report and subsequent analysis of a workshop conducted at the Rural Medical Educators Conference, Savannah, Georgia, May 18, 2010. The Journal of Rural Health, 28(2), 122-127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-0361.2011.00376.x
Maciel, F. V., Wendt, A. T., Demenech, L. M., & Dumith, S. C. (2023). Factors associated with sleep quality in university students. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 28, 1187-1198. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232023284.14132022EN
Maphis, L. E., Martz, D. M., Bergman, S. S., Curtin, L. A., & Webb, R. M. (2013). Body size dissatisfaction and avoidance behavior: How gender, age, ethnicity, and relative clothing size predict what some won’t try. Body image, 10(3), 361-368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.02.003
Marttila, E., Koivula, A., & Räsänen, P. (2021). Does excessive social media use decrease subjective well-being? A longitudinal analysis of the relationship between problematic use, loneliness and life satisfaction. Telematics and Informatics, 59, 101556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2020.101556
Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Widaman, K. F. (2012). Life-span development of self-esteem and its effects on important life outcomes. Journal of personality and social psychology, 102(6), 1271. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2011-21756-001
Parker, G., & Tavella, G. (2021). Burnout: modeling, measuring, and managing. Australasian Psychiatry, 29(6), 625-627. https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562211037332
Prabu, P. S. (2015). A study on academic stress among higher secondary students. International journal of humanities and social science invention, 4(10), 63-68.
Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in human behavior, 29(4), 1841-1848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014
Reddy, K. J., Menon, K. R., & Thattil, A. (2018). Academic stress and its sources among university students. Biomedical and pharmacology journal, 11(1), 531-537. https://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bpj/1404
Reis, A., Saheb, R., Parish, P., Earl, A., Klupp, N., & Sperandei, S. (2021). How I cope at university: Self‐directed stress management strategies of Australian students. Stress and Health, 37(5), 1010-1025. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3058
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE). Acceptance and commitment therapy. Measures package, 61(52), 18.
Roy, S., Thomas, S., & Joy, M. (2021). Emotional intelligence and academic stress among undergraduate students. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 10(5), 86-89.
Scarapicchia, T. M. F., Amireault, S., Faulkner, G., & Sabiston, C. M. (2017). Social support and physical activity participation among healthy adults: a systematic review of prospective studies. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10(1), 50-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2016.1183222
Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The brief resilience scale: assessing the ability to bounce back. International journal of behavioral medicine, 15, 194-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972
Twenge, J. M., Martin, G. N., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Decreases in psychological well-being among American adolescents after 2012 and links to screen time during the rise of smartphone technology. Emotion, 18(6), 765. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2018-02758-001
Vaez, M., Kristenson, M., & Laflamme, L. (2004). Perceived quality of life and self-rated health among first-year university students. Social indicators research, 68, 221-234. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000025594.76886.56
Wang, F., & Bíró, É. (2021). Determinants of sleep quality in college students: A literature review. Explore, 17(2), 170-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2020.11.003
Yamane, T. (1973). Statistics: An introductory analysis.
Yi, H., Shin, K., & Shin, C. (2006). Development of the sleep quality scale. Journal of sleep research, 15(3), 309-316. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2006.00544.x
Yildirim, Y., Kilic, S. P., & Akyol, A. D. (2013). Relationship between life satisfaction and quality of life in Turkish nursing school students. Nursing & health sciences, 15(4), 415-422. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12029
Yusof, F., Arifain, S. M. K., Aziz, S., Suhaini, N., Malek, M. A. A., & Abidin, N. H. Z. (2022). Social support and psychological well-being among students in higher education institutions. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(11), 1443-1452.
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of personality assessment, 52(1), 30-41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ujalla Taveel, Dr. Saima Riaz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
