Research in Medicine

Abstract

Background and Aim: Social well-being is the monitoring and evaluation of individual performance in the community and the quality of relationships with other people, relatives and social groups. Among the parts of society, considering the health status of students as the destiny makers of tomorrow’s country is very important in each community. This study aimed to assess the social well-being status and associated factors in Guilan University of Medical Sciences students in 2015.

Materials and Methods: This article is part of a larger study in which 489 Guilan University of Medical Sciences students in different disciplines were studied by using quota sampling method. The research instrument was a questionnaire consisted of two parts: demographic and translated social well-being questionnaire of Keyes. The internal reliability and validity were confirmed in different studies. Descriptive statistics were performed for data analysis by using SPSS software version 19.

Results: The results showed that a total of 489 students, the majority (87.9%) had moderate social well-being. The highest mean score of social well-being dimension was related to the social integration (18.26±3.79) and the lowest average score was related to social coherence (12.48±3.02). The social well-being of female students were the highest mean (75.31±11.69) than males (74.32±12.15). The most social well-being score was higher in above 30 years age group (80.77±7.85) and regarding the undergraduate degree (75.71±11.98). Social well-being score in married and single students were alike. Students who were satisfied with their field had higher scores of social well-being (76.74±11.76).

Conclusion: Despite the relatively good results of students’ social well-being, the results of this study determined the dimensions that have had the low score. It is hoped these results provide the grounds for improving students’ health promotion.