Self-perceived academic employability skills and physical quality of life on first-year university students’ wellbeing

With the Bologna Process, students’ wellbeing and generic skills for employability became priorities for European universities, but their respective influences remain unclear. Our aims were to analyse the relationships between Academic Employability Skills (AES), psychological suffering (General Health Questionnaire) and psychological quality of life(psychological Whoqol-bref) and other physical, social and environmental Whoqol-bref domains and socio-demographic characteristics. Design: Nine months after the start of their first-year at University of Luxembourg, 973 students were invited to participate at a cross-sectional study. Methods: An online questionnaire was proposed in French, German, and English to assess : a) two instruments described the student’s well-being : 1) Whoqol-bref's psychological subscale-6 items (Cronbach's alpha 0.77) with higher the score, higher the psychological quality of live; 2) GHQ-12 items scale (Cronbach's alpha 0.75) with lower the score, lower the psychological suffering; and one explored the AES-5 items scale (Cronbach's alpha 0.76) (capacities of drafting, solution problem, team work, supervision / direction of others, and use new technologies). Data were analysed using logistic models. Findings: 321 first-year students participated in the study Psychological Whoqol-bref’s and AES’s scores are positively correlated. This relation was verified for each item (drafting, critical spirit, solution to problem, team work, and supervision/direction of others) except use new technologies. Between the correlations of the two instruments only 3/6 items of psychological Whoqol-bref (ability to concentrate, satisfaction with self, negative feelings) are correlated with 8/12 items of GHQ-12 (sleep lost, making decisions, feeling under strain, no overcome difficulties, depressed, loosing self-confidence, considering his/her self as a worthless, reasonably happy). A positive effect between the psychological Whoqol-bref and the AES scores was observed, including with physical, social relationships and environmental domains. No connection exists between the AES and the GHQ-12 scores; on the other side the GHQ-12 score has a negative influence on physical Whoqol-bref status. Conclusions: If a wellbeing suffering contributes in less physical quality of life, the better wellbeing, the higher academic employability skills. Campus should care of students ‘wellbeing and implement counselling activities and adapted environmental to improve their sustainable skills for employability. If the university could maintain the well-being indicators at appropriate levels or manage decreases as they occur, it would have implications for health promotion by creation of new student support systems and
<br />services developing sustainable conditions for better European Higher Educational Area.