Relación de los recursos personales y sociales del alumnado universitario con la satisfacción y éxito académico

Abstract

The emergence of the positive psychology movement provided an increased awareness on the relative importance that positive psychological capacities can have on human functioning. In this line, the aim of this study was multiple, firstly, to determine the relationship of personal resources (i.e., positive psychological capital) with social relationship, satisfaction, and academic performance. And, secondly, to determine if there were significant differences based on gender and area of knowledge. The literature has defined psychological capital as a multidimensional construct made up of four positive psychological resources, such as self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism (Luthans, 2002). Using a sample of 948 college students (59% women and 41% men) from different degrees from a public university in Spain, the exploratory analyses indicated that positive psychological capital was significantly correlated with social resources, academic satisfaction, and academic performance; as well as significant differences by gender and areas of knowledge. The results indicated that women perceived higher levels of social resources, satisfaction and academic performance, and men perceived more optimism and resilience than women. On the other hand, students in the science area perceived higher levels of self-efficacy and hope with their studies, as well as more satisfaction with respect to other areas of knowledge. We discuss the implications of these findings, limitations, and directions for future research.