Health Contributing Factors in Higher Education Students: The Importance of Family and Friends

• Main Authors: Santiago Yubero, Raúl Navarro, Elisa Larrañaga, Macarena Esteban, Jesús Gutiérrez, María Elche
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-12-01
• Series: Healthcare
• Subjects: university; well-being; friends; family; health; health promotion
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/6/4/147

The aim of this study was to determine well-being and its relationship to social support from friends and family communication in university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1679 university students aged 18&#8315;25 years from four universities in Spain. Logistical regression models were tested (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). The students in the last year of university reported higher well-being scores in comparison with students in the previous years. Well-being was inversely related to family communication problems. Family communication and social support from friends were the factors that associated the most with better well-being. All the regression models were statistically significant and explained from 16% of the well-being in Year 4 students until 34% of the well-being in Year 1 students. Our findings could be useful for developing interventions to promote health in order to improve college students&#8217; well-being. It is important for strategies to be developed in mental and family health areas.