Relationship between lifestyle and positive psychological functioning in university administrative staff

Abstract

In Mexico, healthy lifestyle has a low prevalence. The importance of a healthy lifestyle lies in avoiding the emergence of a chronic non-communicable disease. Thus, university administrative personnel are a vulnerable population due to working conditions that prevent them from having a healthy lifestyle, so it is necessary to analyze psychological variables that can explain how to promote and develop a healthy lifestyle. The purposes of this study were to identify relationships among lifestyle (LS) and positive psychological functioning (PPF) and their differences by gender in the administrative staff; a cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted. University administrative staff (n = 102), were recruited using the snowball sampling method, forming a non-probabilistic sample, completed the Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire and the Positive Psychological Functioning Scale. LS has a statistically significant correlation with PPF (r = .355, p = .001); in addition, it is worth pointing out that showing a low level of PPF implies a lower probability of having a healthy LS (Ψ = 28.333, 4.965 – 161.675). Results suggest the relevance of interventions to develop psychological resources in people seeking the adoption of a healthy LS.