Social well-being among students: A study in Southern Iran

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the social well-being and its effective factors among the students in the universities located in city of Jahrom, south of Iran. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical work, in which 437 students from Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Payam Noor University and Jahrom University were participated using proportional stratified sampling method. The data collection tool consisted of two parts of demographic properties and Keyes Short-form Social well-being Questionnaire. Results: In all the three universities, the dimension of social cohesion had the maximum mean and dimension of social contribution had the minimum mean. Scores of dimensions of social correlation, social cohesion, social acceptance and total score based on type of university were significantly different (P<0.05). Also, scores of dimensions of social integration, social cohesion and social contribution were significantly different among men and women (P<0.05). Age had a significantly negative relationship with social correlation (r=-0.156, P<0.001) and significantly positive relationship with social cohesion (r=0.162, P=0.001). There was also a significantly positive relationship between the mean score of students and social cohesion (r=0.112, P=0.019). Conclusion: The total score of social well-being of students in the universities of Jahrom was moderate given the resulting scores, but at the same time, the scores of some areas of social health (social contribution, social integration, and social actualization) were low. Findings indicate that demographic characteristics can cause changes in the social health score of university students.