Impact of family structure and gender on psychological well-being among college students: a comparative study of nuclear and extended families

Well-being is described as the state of being healthy and happy. It requires harmony with mind and body. It can become subjective in nature as different people have different life experiences. It can be used as an umbrella term to define different aspects of our life, such as physical, mental, social, psychological, emotional, digital, economical, and spiritual. These can sometimes be interlinked, such as good physical well-being being associated with good psychological well-being. Psychological well-being can be associated with a feeling of happiness and satisfaction in one’s life, a feeling of self-control and a good state of mind. Being in a good psychological well-being state can be defined as being able to accept and be quite satisfied with what we have in life, having a healthy and positive state of mind, being able to handle our emotions well in difficult situations, and not acting drastically. Psychological well-being (PWB; Ryff, 1989) comprises six dimensions that support positive mental health: autonomy, positive relations, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. It is typically understood as a blend of positive emotional states, such as happiness, and optimal functioning in both personal and social life. The purpose of this research paper is to determine the overall level of psychological well-being among undergraduate students and to assess the impact of demographic factors such as gender and family structure on psychological well-being among college students. For this study, primary data was collected from a total sample of 140 college students using the non-probability sampling method, which included 70 students living in nuclear family and 70 students living in extended family. Students residing in Haldwani city of Nainital district were selected for the study. Psychological well-being scale developed and standardized by Dr. Devendra Singh Sisodia and Miss. Pooja Choudhary was used to measure the overall level of psychological well-being of students. For statistical analysis, Mean, S.D. and t-test were applied. Results revealed that there is a significant difference in the overall level of psychological well-being between students living in nuclear and extended families and concluded that whether an individual lives in nuclear or extended families, it does impact the level of psychological well-being among individuals. The results also revealed no significant difference in the overall level of psychological well-being between boys and girls.