Sense of purpose and social-emotional-behavioral skills during university

Abstract

Past research has demonstrated that university students with a stronger sense of purpose tend to fare better than their peers. However, work is needed to investigate the mechanisms and skills that may underlie these associations. The current studies employed two university student samples (total n = 412) and comprehensively investigated associations between sense of purpose and social-emotional-behavioral skills, using multiple purpose measures. Associations were relatively similar across measures and samples, and results suggested that sense of purpose was most robustly positively associated with self-management skills. Sense of purpose also was associated with better student wellbeing (life satisfaction, college satisfaction, and student connectedness), though it was inconsistently associated with reported likelihood of degree completion. Sense of purpose largely remained a significant correlate of student wellbeing, even when accounting for SEB skill domains, although some associations between purpose and wellbeing were reduced in magnitude.