New students' psychological well-being and its relation to first year academic performance in a UK university

Topham, Phil; Moller, Naomi

Abstract

Aims: This study (1) profiled the well-being of first year students entering one UK university, and (2) explored whether initial well-being and year end academic performance were correlated. Method: A total of 117 students (mean age 21, 67% female) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-General Population, and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; academic achievement data were collected from academic records. Results: Almost a quarter of the sample reported quasi-clinical levels of psychological distress and moderate to very severe social anxiety. Quasi-clinical levels of psychological distress were associated with low self-esteem and social anxiety. No statistically significant links were found between well-being as assessed at the beginning of the first year and academic achievement at the end of the first year. Discussion: The failure to find a link in this study between initial well-being and academic performance at the end of the first year suggests that further investigation is required to understand how academic achievement is related to student well-being. © 2011 British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Jan 27, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 11, 2016
• Journal: Counselling and Psychotherapy Research
• Print ISSN: 1746-1405
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 196-203
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14733145.2010.519043
• Keywords: academic performance, mental health, self-esteem, social anxiety, university students, well-being
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/975945
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14733145.2010.519043
• Related Public URLs: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/14733145.2010.519043
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an electronic version of an article published in Counseling and Psychotherapy Research, Volume 11, Issue 3, pp 196-203. Counseling and Psychotherapy Research is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14733145.2010.519043
• Contract Date: Feb 11, 2016