Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: University students face intense academic, social, and developmental demands, making psychological flourishing a key indicator of student well-being. The present study examined the relationship between sense of belonging, serenity, and flourishing among university students, tested the predictive roles of belonging and serenity, and explored gender differences. A quantitative correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 101 students (43 males, 58 females) aged 18–30 years from public and private universities. Participants completed the Sense of Belonging Scale (Hagerty & Patusky, 1995), the Brief Serenity Scale (Kreitzer et al., 2009), and the Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2010). Reliability was acceptable to excellent (α = .767 to .961). Pearson correlations showed that flourishing was positively related to sense of belonging (r = .320, p < .01) and strongly related to serenity (r = .642, p < .01). Multiple regression indicated that belonging and serenity together explained 44% of the variance in flourishing, F(2, 98) = 38.53, p < .001, with serenity the stronger predictor (β = .600, p < .001) and belonging a smaller but significant unique predictor (β = .172, p = .029). Independent samples t-tests revealed no statistically significant gender differences in belonging, serenity, or flourishing. The findings suggest that inner peace and social connectedness are complementary resources for student flourishing, and that university counselling and wellness programs may benefit from targeting both.
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7224989776