The levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction of university students have dropped significantly over the past three years, according to a survey conducted by a team of social work experts from the City University of Hong Kong, the Baptist University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, and the Education University of Hong Kong.
The findings were presented in the “Diverse Practices of Positive Education” conference held on 21 to 22 August 2020, in which overseas experts, local educators and practitioners of the social welfare sector shared different positive education practices.
The survey polled about 1,000 university students from 2017 to 2020. While over 90% and 85% of the respondents indicated a medium to a high level of emotional and psychological wellbeing, less than 70% reported similar level of social wellbeing, which was indicated partly by enquiring whether they agreed with statements like “I think our society is an ideal society” and “our society is gradually becoming an ideal society”. Meanwhile, a tracking of 271 students during the research period showed a decline in the social wellbeing score, from 3.5 (out of 6) in the first year (2017) to 3.1 this year (2020).
Also deserve attention is that 24.5% and 15.7% of the respondents reported a severe level of anxiety and depression, respectively, meaning that they always feel stressed, worried, and hopeless for the future.
But the scenario is not all pessimistic. Though almost 60% of the respondents reflected that they are under time pressure, stress arising from general social mistreatment, academic alienation (cannot engage in learning) and developmental challenges are mild. Over 95% and 93% said that their levels of life satisfaction, and engagement and achievement are medium to high. Almost 80% of the respondents would try different ways to cope with stressful situations, compared to the remaining 20% who would give up handling a problem.
As an initiative to enhance tertiary students’ overall mental health condition, the team launched the UGC-funded Joint University Mental Wellness Project (JUMP) in the past three years.
Photo 1: Through playing laser tag games, university students can discover their own character strength and learn to appreciate their peers’ character strength.
The project, which has drawn some 4,600 students and 250 academic staff, aims at nurturing university students in the six domains of positive education, namely positive emotions, positive relationships, positive purpose, positive accomplishment, positive engagement, and positive health. It also helps students increase life satisfaction and strengthen their resilience in the face of life difficulties. Workshops, camps and a study tour to Taiwan were organised to introduce the knowledge of positive psychology, and promote positive emotions and positive relationship. After acquiring the basics, students were encouraged to apply what they have learnt to promote mental wellness in and out of their universities, by designing and implementing Mental Wellness Festival and a variety of community activities. Compared with the control group, students who have joined the programme have lower levels of anxiety and feel less time pressure. They are able to identify clear life goals and would take a more proactive approach when facing adversity.
Despite the promising results, Dr Sylvia KWOK LAI Yuk-ching, Associate Professor at CityU’s Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences,Convener of the Positive Education Laboratory and Principal Investigator of JUMP, looks for long-term changes in positive education strategies. “The goal is to get universities to incorporate positive education in the university curriculum. Keep promoting the wellbeing of students and improving their coping skills are also essential,” she says.
Cover photo: Participants of the Joint University Mental Wellness Programme built team spirit and peer support with adventure-based activities.
