Graduate Program
College Student Affairs
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Semester of Degree Completion
2012
Thesis Director
James Wallace
Thesis Committee Member
John Bickford
Thesis Committee Member
Charles Eberly
Abstract
The present research was constructed with the aim to assess happiness within college students. The research hypotheses were 1.) Students of "belief' faith will experience higher levels of classic happiness than will students not of faith or of "activity" faith, 2.) Students of "belief' faith will experience higher levels of life satisfaction and purpose in life than will students not of faith or of "activity" faith. 3.) Students not of faith will experience the highest levels of contemporary happiness, and 4.) Students not of faith will have the least overall satisfaction with life and have the weakest grasp of a sense of purpose in their lives. The study was conducted using a mixed-method approach utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. For the quantitative portion, 3,400 email surveys were distributed; 449 surveys were returned completed. The qualitative portion consisted of 16 one-on-one interviews with participants. The participants for both methods were volunteers from a public, mid-sized, four-year, predominantly white institution. The quantitative results were not statistically significant as religious participants and their frequency practicing their religion was not statistically significantly different than those who were not of faith. The data analysis of Chi-square tests and ANOVA tests affirm these findings.
Recommended Citation
McClure, Ross A., "Assessing happiness in college students" (2012). Masters Theses. 782.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/782
