IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v22y2021i5d10.1007_s10902-020-00312-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

College as a Growth Opportunity: Assessing Personal Growth Initiative and Self-determination Theory

Author

Listed:
  • Ingrid K. Weigold

    (The University of Akron)

  • Arne Weigold

    (Kent State University at Geauga)

  • Shu Ling

    (The University of Akron)

  • Migyeong Jang

    (The University of Akron)

Abstract

Although college presents a time for personal and vocational development, little research has examined individuals’ intentional use of college as a growth opportunity. Consequently, the current study assessed relationships among personal growth initiative (an individual’s active desire to grow in personally relevant domains), basic needs satisfaction at college, and positive outcomes in samples of students from a large, public, predominantly White institution (n = 818) and a small, private, minority-majority college (n = 195). Using structural equation modeling, we examined a hypothesized model in which personal growth initiative was indirectly related to the two outcomes (psychological well-being and vocational commitment) through the satisfaction of the basic needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness; this was compared to a reverse model. The hypothesized model was a better fit for the data in the university sample, and both models had similar fit for the college sample. Tests of indirect effects using the hypothesized model showed evidence of mediation, with similarities and differences between the samples. Finally, the two models were invariant across institutions at the structural level. PGI and basic needs satisfaction explained over half of the variance in psychological well-being and approximately one-quarter of the variance in vocational commitment in both samples.

Suggested Citation

  • Ingrid K. Weigold & Arne Weigold & Shu Ling & Migyeong Jang, 2021. "College as a Growth Opportunity: Assessing Personal Growth Initiative and Self-determination Theory," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 2143-2163, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00312-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-020-00312-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-020-00312-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-020-00312-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard M. Ryan & Veronika Huta & Edward Deci, 2008. "Living well: a self-determination theory perspective on eudaimonia," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 139-170, January.
    2. Celinda Stevic & Rose Ward, 2008. "Initiating Personal Growth: The Role of Recognition and Life Satisfaction on the Development of College Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 523-534, December.
    3. Paul D. Umbach & George D. Kuh, 2006. "Student Experiences with Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges: Another Claim for Distinctiveness," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(1), pages 169-192, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ingrid K. Weigold & Arne Weigold & Stephanie A. Dykema & Naomi M. Drakeford & Emily T. Ethridge, 2024. "Personal Growth Initiative: Relation to Coping Styles, Strategies, and Self-Efficacy," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 1-22, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Małgorzata W Kożusznik & José M Peiró & Aida Soriano, 2019. "Daily eudaimonic well-being as a predictor of daily performance: A dynamic lens," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, April.
    2. Violeta Misheva, 2016. "What Determines Emotional Well-Being? The Role of Adverse Experiences: Evidence Using Twin Data," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1921-1937, October.
    3. Geurim Han & Junghwa Kim & Sun W. Park, 2018. "Extrinsic Value Orientation and Decreased Sustainability of Shared Resources: The Moderating Role of Situational Characteristics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-13, June.
    4. Therese Kobbeltvedt & Katharina Wolff, 2009. "The Risk-as-feelings hypothesis in a Theory-of-planned-behaviour perspective," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 4(7), pages 567-586, December.
    5. Waratta Authayarat & Hiroyuki Umemuro, 2012. "Workplace Environment Characteristics as Antecedents of Affective Well-being in the Workplace," International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), Computer Science Journals (CSC Journals), vol. 3(6), pages 307-324, December.
    6. Brand-Correa, Lina I. & Steinberger, Julia K., 2017. "A Framework for Decoupling Human Need Satisfaction From Energy Use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 43-52.
    7. Jen-Ho Chang & Chin-Lan Huang & Yi-Cheng Lin, 2015. "Mindfulness, Basic Psychological Needs Fulfillment, and Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1149-1162, October.
    8. Horacio Molina-Sánchez & Gabriele Giorgi & Dante Castillo Guajardo & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2022. "Special Issue “Rethinking the Subjective Wellbeing for a New Workplace Scenario”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-6, April.
    9. Marylie W. Gerson & Leanne Neilson, 2014. "The Importance of Identity Development, Principled Moral Reasoning, and Empathy as Predictors of Openness to Diversity in Emerging Adults," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(4), pages 21582440145, October.
    10. Bret Crane, 2022. "Eudaimonia in Crisis: How Ethical Purpose Finding Transforms Crisis," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 391-416, December.
    11. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke, 2020. "What makes work meaningful and why economists should care about it," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    12. Mars, Lidón & Arroyo, Rosa & Ruiz, Tomás, 2022. "Mobility and wellbeing during the covid-19 lockdown. Evidence from Spain," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 107-129.
    13. Corey L. M. Keyes & Malik Muhammad Sohail & Nneka Jebose Molokwu & Heather Parnell & Cyrilla Amanya & Venkata Gopala Krishna Kaza & Yohannes Benyam Saddo & Vanroth Vann & Senti Tzudier & Rae Jean Proe, 2021. "How Would You Describe a Mentally Healthy Person? A Cross-Cultural Qualitative Study of Caregivers of Orphans and Separated Children," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1719-1743, April.
    14. Laing, Jennifer H. & Frost, Warwick, 2017. "Journeys of well-being: Women's travel narratives of transformation and self-discovery in Italy," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 110-119.
    15. Hagit Sabato & Sapir Bar-Ilan, 2023. "Pleasure or Meaning: Subjective Well-Being Orientations and the Willingness to Help Close Versus Distant Others," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 2013-2037, August.
    16. Kengo Mihara & Hisayoshi Okamura & Yoshihisa Shoji & Kyoko Tashiro & Yukie Kinoshita & Akira Tsuda, 2020. "Personal Growth and Psychobiological Stress Responsiveness to the Trier Social Stress Test in Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    17. Chunpei Lin & Guanxi Zhao & Chuanpeng Yu & Yenchun Jim Wu, 2019. "Smart City Development and Residents’ Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, January.
    18. Chi Kwong Bruce Wan & Adaobi J. Onuike, 2021. "Illuminating Opportunities for Smart Tourism Innovation That Foster Sustainable Tourist Well-Being Using Q Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
    19. Badri Bajaj & Ragini Gupta & Santoshi Sengupta, 2019. "Emotional Stability and Self-Esteem as Mediators Between Mindfulness and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(7), pages 2211-2226, October.
    20. Erik Carlquist & Hilde E. Nafstad & Rolv M. Blakar, 2018. "Understanding Satisfaction: An Analysis of the Meaning Potential of the Word “Satisfaction” in Everyday Norwegian Language," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 939-959, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00312-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.