Activity level and general well-being indicators among university students

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. The study of indicators of general well-being and drivers of activity among students is particularly relevant in the context of modern challenges in the educational environment. Student life is a critical stage of personal and professional development, accompanied by high academic loads, the need to adapt to sociocultural changes, and the formation of life goals and social connections. In this context, the ability to effectively manage one's own time, goals, and relationships, which are the drivers of activity, becomes a key factor in successful adaptation and psychological comfort. Objective. To study the indicators of general well-being among students in the higher education system and their relationship with the level of activity. Hypothesis. The level of activity is interrelated with indicators of general well-being among students: as activity increases, well-being also increases. Methods and materials. The study involved 297 undergraduate students of a humanitarian university (M = 21,1, SD = 4,0, 84% female). Indicators of general well-being were assessed using a battery of questionnaires (Spielberger-Khanin self-assessment scale of anxiety level, V. Zung's method of differential diagnosis of depressive states (adapted by T.I. Balashova), N.P. Fetiskin's scale of subjective well-being, N. Hall's method for assessing emotional intelligence, etc.), and the level of activity was determined using E.B. Bashkin's "Drivers of student learning activity" method. Results. The results showed that all the studied indicators of general well-being differed among students with different levels of activity. Conclusions. It has been shown that the ability to effectively manage goals, time, and relationships, on the one hand, contributes to a decrease in personal anxiety and depression, an increase in emotional intelligence, but on the other hand, it leads to an increase in situational anxiety and a decrease in subjective well-being.

General Information

Keywords: well-being, activity drivers, student youth, higher education system

Journal rubric: Educational Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2026220208

Funding. This publication has been supported by the RUDN University Scientific Projects Grant System, project № 051331-2-000.

Received 20.08.2025

Revised 15.05.2026

Accepted

Published

For citation: Plotnikov, A.Y., Khayrova, Z.R., Bashkin, E.B., Kelareva, I.V. (2026). Activity level and general well-being indicators among university students. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 22(2), 75–85. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2026220208

© Plotnikov A.Y., Khayrova Z.R., Bashkin E.B., Kelareva I.V., 2026

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Alexander Y. Plotnikov, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Assistant of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Faculty of Philology, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9809-6084, e-mail: plotnikov_ayu@pfur.ru

Zulfiya R. Khayrova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Russian Academy of Education, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Faculty of Philology, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5367-2156, e-mail: khayrova_zr@pfur.ru

Evgeny B. Bashkin, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Head of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Faculty of Philology, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4118-813X, e-mail: bashkin_eb@pfur.ru

Irina V. Kelareva, Academic Master of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Faculty of Philology, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba, Moscow, Russian Federation, e-mail: kelareva_iv@pfur.com

Contribution of the authors

Alexander Yu. Plotnikov — application of statistical, mathematical or other methods for data analysis; conducting the experiment; data collection and analysis; visualization of research results.

Zulfiya R. Khairova — ideas; annotation, writing and design of the manuscript; planning of the research; control over the research.

Evgeny B. Bashkin — ideas; writing and design of the manuscript; planning of the research; control over the research.

Irina V. Kelareva — annotation, writing and design of the manuscript; planning of the research; control over the research.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

All respondents who participated in the study gave written informed consent.

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