Belay Tefera Kibret and Gerum Tareke
Success in higher education is most commonly indexed in Ethiopia with academic success despite the fact that the major factor undergirding this success appears to be non-academic in nature. The main intent of this study was to examine one of these academic profiles of university students (i.e., psychological wellbeing) and the extent to which it was affected by perceived (university, peer group and instructors) support services. Data were collected from a sample of 384 students (217 males and 167 females) drawn from three universities (Bahir Dar, Wollo, and Debre Tabor) in the Amhara Regional State. Structured questionnaire composed of various components originally developed by experts in the field was used for the present study; in fact after validating the sub scales. Findings indicated that psychological wellbeing general score, ‘environmental mastery’, ‘purpose in life’, and ‘self-acceptance’ were lower compared to autonomy, personal growth, and relationship with others. Female students and those from lower family income group were more vulnerable than their counterparts unlike grade level in which, contrary to previous research, little differences were noted in psychological well-being among students of different university grade levels. It was also found that university support, teacher support, and peer support were perceived to be lower. Yet, peer support and teacher support were found to be significant predictors of psychological well-being compared to university support that proved to be less useful. The results were discussed and recommendations were forwarded to fill in the gaps noted.
