Quality of life and life satisfaction among university students: Exploring, subjective norms, general health, optimism, and attitude as potential mediators

Abstract

Objective This study aims to examine the association of quality of life (QOL) with life satisfaction, subjective norms, general health, optimism, and attitude among university students. Participants Respondents include 632 university students (Mage=21.36, SD = 2.86). Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on university students in Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran. Several statistical models were tested, including hierarchical regression and path analysis, to examine the direct or indirect association between a set of important variables. Results According to the results of path analysis, constructs of subjective norms, general health, positive attitude, optimism, and life satisfaction were significant predictors of students’ QOL. Compared with other constructs, general health status (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.548) and life satisfaction (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.253) showed the strongest association with QOL. Conclusions The results indicate that efforts to improve life satisfaction by targeting general health, subjective norms, optimism, and attitudes may provide promising ways to improve QOL.