1.2. Psychosocial Factors
Several models support the possible psychosocial factors related to psychological well-being. From a general perspective, the psycho-educational approach is an integral framework for the development and evaluation of psychological and educational constructs such as social skills, empathy, self-concept, anxiety and emotional intelligence, among others [
9,
10,
11]. More specific frameworks, such as EuroPsy for the development of standards for high-quality professional education in psychology, include the following higher education competencies: adequate levels of empathy or anxiety, socially responsible attitudes, emotional management, problem solving and learning style preferences [
11]. Other frameworks, such as the European Higher Education Area [
10] and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [
9], highlight the importance of developing systemic competencies that include inter- and intra-personal psychological resources such as emotional intelligence, self-esteem, social skills, social responsibility and empathy [
9,
10]. From a psychological perspective, emotions are key constructs related to psychological well-being and satisfaction with life, according to classical theoretical models such as that of Goleman [
12], Mayer et al. [
13] and Bar-On [
14]. Other more contemporary models include those by Bisquerra and Pérez-Escoda [
12,
15,
16,
17,
18]. These models propose that emotional/psychological skills may be divided into two poles inside a continuum. The positive side includes elements such as self-esteem, social skills and empathic attitudes, and the negative side includes symptoms such as anxiety [
5,
19,
20,
21,
22]. Both sides seem to have a relationship with psychological well-being, according to the existing empirical literature [
5,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,
24,
25].
From an educational perspective, learning style preferences are understood as the various ways of overcoming, planning and resolving the demands of learning. There are four learning styles based on the preferences of the individual: the activist style based on direct experience, the reflector style based on observation and data collection, the theorist style based on abstract conceptualization and conclusion formation and the pragmatist style based on active experimentation and a search for practical applications [
26]. In relation to learning methodologies, two types are usually differentiated, traditional learning, usually more common in education, whose methodology is expository, individualistic and competitive, and cooperative learning, which is characteristically more autonomous, social and dialectical. García-Ruiz and González Fernández [
27] noted that the cooperative learning methodology was more positive for students than the traditional approach, since their learning was greater and of better quality. Cooperative learning methodologies usually influence the degree of academic satisfaction [
5,
28]. In turn, the greater the satisfaction with the academic environment in general (contents of university subjects, types of assessments used, methodologies applied to learning, teaching / learning styles, etc.), the larger the psychological well-being perceived by university students [
22].
Under the umbrella of educational resources, social skills are the ability to adequately manage interpersonal relationships with the environment and to correctly understand, control and adjust interpersonal strategies. Social skills are measured by the overall social competence of the individual and by the inter- and intra-personal strategies used [
29]. These skills appear to be related to academic performance in the university environment [
30]. Positive social relationships have been shown to be associated with psychological well-being [
31]. In addition, university social responsibility has been studied from the perspective of the organization, understanding that it should meet the expectations of stakeholders such as current and/or future students [
32]. However, the importance of the individual perspective of the students’ values should be emphasized [
33].
On the positive side of the psychological continuum, emotional intelligence interconnects emotions with reason, or in other words, emotions influence our thoughts, just as our cognitive processes influence our emotional states [
34]. The concept of emotional intelligence is defined as the cognitive abilities that can be measured through tasks involving the processing of emotional information. This has been developed at a theoretical and empirical level, to demonstrate its predictive ability in different areas of daily life [
35,
36]. The latest research on emotional intelligence highlights its role in the ability of individuals to adapt to daily life environments and is linked to well-being [
36,
37,
38,
39]. In the tertiary context, the implication of high emotional intelligence in relation to academic performance in university students has been studied, emphasizing the role of emotional skills [
24]. Some authors have highlighted the importance of emotional intelligence as a type of psychosocial adaptation in the university educational environment [
38], it being a possible predictor of psychological well-being [
23]. Several studies involving university students have examined the impact of proficient emotional intelligence skills in relation to academic performance, highlighting the key role of emotional skills [
24]. This indicates the key role of emotional intelligence and its related dimensions (such as empathy) in university teaching and learning environments with students.
Empathy is the skill that allows us to know how other people are feeling, what they are thinking, understand their intentions, predict their behavior and understand their emotions [
39]. Some studies on empathy have focused on analyzing it in young people, as it contributes to the enhancement of social skills and prosocial behavior [
40,
41]. The psychological well-being perceived by students appears to be strongly associated with empathy. Gustems Carnicer and Calderón [
42] conducted a study with a group of university students where they found that students at high risk of psychological distress had higher scores for empathic stress and avoidance coping strategies. On the one hand, they obtained a direct correlation between psychological distress and emotional discharge, cognitive avoidance, the search for alternative rewards and resignation [
42]. Recent studies have reported relationships between the emotional ability known as empathy and subjective well-being in university students [
5,
43,
44]. Self-concept is considered a complex term because of the difficulty of differentiating it from similar terms that have even been used as synonyms, such as self-esteem [
45]. Several authors refer to this as the labels that people give themselves, generally related to their physique, behavior and emotions [
46]. Behavioral, affective and social functioning are explained by the perception of an individual’s experiences; therefore, one’s self-concept could be a predictor of one’s psychological well-being [
45,
47]. In a study conducted with university students in the area of self-concept within a cooperative learning structure, there was an improvement in self-concept [
48]. Other studies [
49] have reported positive relationships between psychological well-being and physical self-concept and self-esteem [
22,
49,
50,
51]. Therefore, self-concept could be included in studies as a probable factor related to university students’ psychological profiles.
On the negative side of the psychological continuum, anxiety has been erroneously considered synonymous with other concepts such as stress, fear or distress. Spielberger et al. [
52] defined anxiety as an emotional reaction that is externalized through tension, apprehension, nervousness and worry, in addition to activation of the autonomous nervous system. Spielberger, Gorsuch and Lushene [
53] establish two types of anxiety based on lengths of time: state and trait anxiety. For Spielberger [
54], state anxiety refers to an immediate emotional state, modifiable over time, while trait anxiety is a relatively stable disposition, tendency or personality trait. Different concepts of anxiety (state and trait) need to be studied. According to Sandín and Chorot [
55], anxiety implies at least three response systems (cognitive, physiological and behavioral), with their activation creating a fight or flight response, which in turn can have an effect at the psychological level [
55]. The vast majority of the scientific literature suggests that approximately 50% of university students have experienced significant levels of anxiety [
56,
57]. Research focused on the university population concludes that the effects of anxiety are closely related to certain variables such as academic performance, abandoning the course and psychological and emotional well-being [
58,
59]. However, it has not been studied in conjunction with other explanatory variables of psychological well-being.
The study of the potential predictive relationship between the psychosocial factors previously described and psychological well-being in a university student sample provides a more holistic view for prospective educators, researchers and health care practitioners. Findings from this study may inform the development of new educational policies and intervention programs aimed at directly improving the psychological well-being of university students in the international context. Likewise, studies of this type could strengthen lines of research oriented towards the application of intervention programs aimed at the well-being of students and their academic performance. Conducting studies with sample groups of first-year undergraduate students from social and health areas allows a suite of baseline educational and psychosocial data measures to be collected on which intervention programs can be founded. This is beneficial in two key ways. Firstly, the objective data can be used to determine what psychosocial and educational factors need urgent attention and remediation activities put in place in courses such as social education, pedagogy or speech therapy. Secondly, follow-up data can be then collected after program planning, implementation and completion to determine its efficacy in those disciplines. The information about the possible potential relationship between psychological well-being and psychosocial factors provides a landscape overview about potential strategic changes that are needed in this higher education context over the duration of enrolment of first-year students up until they finish their degree. This evaluation is useful to improve the process of adjustment, socio-emotional adaptation to the university context and the quality of life of first-year students to better equip them with the foundation skills needed to be successful upon graduation and during the first few years of their work life. In sum, collecting baseline data from first-year students can have both short- and long-term benefits for the designer of intervention programs and for the students themselves.