A study on the relationship of college students’ personal projects to subjective well-being

Abstract

This study aimed at exploring the relationship between goal-directed activities and subjective well-being through Personal Projects Analysis (PPA). 316 college students completed the Personal Projects Analysis (PPA), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Scales of Pleasant and Unpleasant Affect. The results showed that participants who reported higher levels of SWLS and pleasant affect rated their personal projects significantly higher on PPA factors reflecting Project Meaning, Project Control and Project Interpersonal Relationship than did participants who reported lower levels of subjective well-being. While PPA factor Project Control emerged as a reliable predictor of SWLS, factor Project Meaning did as a reliable predictor of positive affect. Project Strain appeared to have no significant effects on subjective well-being. The results suggested that subjective well-being is associated with pursuing personal projects that are meaningful, better controlled, and supported by others.