Gender and Campus-Based Organization Type as Determinants of Students’ Psychological Wellbeing at the University for Development Studies
Abstract
As academic demands, social transitions, and personal development challenges intersect within the university setting, students’ psychological well-being has become a critical area of concern. In this context, involvement in campus-based organizations may play an important role, as such groups provide structured support systems where students can share experiences, seek guidance, and build meaningful relationships. These interactions can foster a sense of belonging, social connectedness, and emotional stability, all of which contribute positively to overall psychological well-being. The study sought to explain whether campus-based organizations involvement affects psychological wellbeing of students at University for Development Studies. A cross-sectional survey design was used and data collected from 374 sampled participants using simple random technique out of 5,643 population being undergraduate student members of campus-based organizations. Standard psychological well-being instrument was modified to include items on participation in campus organizations. An independent samples t-test was run to test gender differences in psychological well-being, and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze differences by campus-based organization type and amount of participation. Results showed a significant gender difference on psychological well- being, t (372) = 8.284, p < 0.001, such that the male students were found to have higher levels of psychological well-being (M = 79.90; SD = 12.95) than the female counterparts (M=68.71; SD=13.12). The results also showed that the type of campus organization made a notable difference in their psychological well-being as noted by the one- way ANOVA result F (4, 369) = 7.234, p <.001; indicating that there are differences between organizational type and students’ psychological well-being. Based on the findings, the study conclude that gender explains difference in the influence of campus based organizations on psychological wellbeing with male students doing better than their female counterparts. The study again concludes that the type of campus- based organization involvement is a significant determinant on the psychological well-being of students with sports/recreations and culture type of groups contributing better to the psychological wellbeing of students than the others. It is recommended that student affairs and support service units should support campus organizations to integrate supportive activities and monitor their impact to maximize students’ mental health benefits across board.
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