Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1476544
This article is part of the Research Topic The Intersection of Psychology, Healthy Behaviors, and its Outcomes View all 23 articles

Sociodemographic Aspects, Beliefs about Lifestyles, and Religiosity as Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Peruvian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Universidad SeƱor de SipĆ”n, Chiclayo, Peru
  • 2 Universidad Peruana UniĆ³n, Lima, Peru

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Beliefs and practices related to healthy lifestyles and religiosity can play an important role in overall well-being. However, few studies have explored the association between these factors and life satisfaction in the university context. This study examined the association between sociodemographic aspects, lifestyle beliefs, and religiosity with life satisfaction in university students. A cross-sectional predictive study was conducted during the months of March and May 2024 at a private university located in the northern region of Peru.Validated instruments were distributed that included a lifestyle beliefs scale, the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire-Short Form (SCSRFQ-SF), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and a sociodemographic data section. A total of 1258 students participated in the study. Multiple linear regression models were used for predictive analysis. Being a student of foreign origin, compared to being Peruvian, is negatively and significantly associated with life satisfaction (š›½ = -0.066, p = 0.003). In contrast, a positive association is observed between belonging to the Faculty of Health Sciences (š›½ = 0.119, p = 0.048) and life satisfaction, compared to students from other faculties. Furthermore, lifestyle beliefs (š›½ = 0.579; p < 0.001) and religiosity (š›½ = 0.182; p < 0.001) are positively and significantly associated with life satisfaction. These findings suggest that universities and health professionals should consider promoting healthy lifestyles and supporting religious practices as important strategies to improve student life satisfaction, considering relevant sociodemographic aspects.

    Keywords: Healthy lifestyle, Personal Satisfaction, Religion, Students University, Sociodemographic characteristics, Subjective well-being, Peru

    Received: 06 Aug 2024; Accepted: 01 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: Ā© 2024 Saintila, Javier-Aliaga, Valle-Chafloque, Casas-GĆ”lvez, Barreto-Espinoza and Calizaya-Milla. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jacksaint Saintila, Universidad SeƱor de SipƔn, Chiclayo, Peru
    Yaquelin E. Calizaya-Milla, Universidad Peruana UniĆ³n, Lima, Peru

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.