Predicting the Well-being of Latin-American Postgraduate Students in Brazil

Abstract

This work aims at investigating the relations between subjective well-being, coping strategies, and human values among Latin American postgraduate students going through an adaptive process in Brazil. Participants were 103 sojourners from 13 countries in Latin America who are currently enrolled in postgraduate programs at Brazilian universities (52.4 % male). Students answered sociodemographic questions, the Coping Strategies Inventory, the Life Satisfaction Scale, the Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale, and the Basic Values Questionnaire. Life satisfaction was predicted by sex,  by the normative, excitement, and existence values subfunctions, and by cognitive restructuring, emotional expression, and social support coping strategies. Positive affect was predicted by wishful thinking and by the normative and excitement values. Negative affect was predicted by wishful thinking and excitement values. Despite its limitations, this work makes contributions to multicultural research in Brazil and the construction of knowledge that can assist in proposing actions and programs to promote the well-being of foreign student in that country.

Keywords: Well-being, sojourner, Latin America, coping, human values.