TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables vii
List of Appendices viii
Abstract ix
Chapter One
Introduction 1
Statement of Problem 10
Purpose of Study 11
Operational Definition of Terms 12
Chapter Two
Literature Review
Theoretical Review 13
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Factors 13
Sensation Seeking Theory 15
Big Five Personality Traits Dimensions 16
Astin’s Theory of Involvement 20
Role Theory 22
Socio Emotional Selectivity Theory 24
Self Determination Theory 26
Empirical Review 27
Civic Engagement and Social Well-being 27
Personality Role on the Social Well-being 30
Sensation Seeking Role on the Social Well-being 42
Summary of Literature Review 47
Hypotheses 49
Chapter Three
Method
Participants 50
Instruments 50
Procedure 53
Design and Statistics 53
Chapter Four
Results 54
Chapter Five
Discussion 58
Implications of the Study 64
Limitations of the Study 65
Suggestions for Further Studies 66
Summary and Conclusion 67
REFERENCES 69
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
List of Tables
Table 1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Correlations for the study variables.
Table 2 Table of coefficients for civic engagement, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness, sensation seeking and social well being.
List of Appendices
Appendix A: Civic Engagement Scale
Appendix B: Big Five Inventory
Appendix C: Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking Scale
Appendix D: Social Well-being Scale
Appendix E: Computer printout showing SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) analysis results
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the role of civic engagement, personality and sensation seeking on the social well-being of undergraduates. Participants were four hundred and fifty one (451) undergraduates. Their ages ranged between 16 to 35 years, with a mean age of 22.07. Cross sectional design was adopted. Four instruments were used for data collection. Civic Engagement Scale (Dolittle & Faul, 2013), Big Five Inventory (John, Donahue & Kentle, 1990), Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking Scale (Arnett, 1993), and Social Well-being Scale (Keyes, 1998). Seven hypotheses were tested. Step wise multiple regression was the main statistic used for data analysis. Results of the regression analysis showed that amongst the studied variables, only civic engagement was a significant predictor of social well-being (p < .001). The five dimensions of Personality; extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness were not significant predictors of social well-being. Similarly, sensation seeking did not also significantly predict social well-being. One good practical implication of the finding of this study is that individuals with patriotic minds and willingness to engage in civic duties are needed at all sectors to change our society for the best.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
The rise in social problems experienced by young people has provided an impetus for the development of programs and research to address well-being amongst youths; and research on social well-being (SWB) has increased considerably in the recent times. The study of social well-being in childhood through youth age, as a holistic concept, is still in its early stages. However, many of the more narrowly defined concepts under the broader banner of ‘social well-being’ have been studied for decades (Guttman & Louis, 1982). The psychological concept well-being is a general term for the condition of an individual or group, for example their social, economic, psychological, spiritual or medical state; high well-being means that, in some sense, the individual’s experience is positive, while low well-being is associated with negative happenings (Guttman & Louis, 1982). Social well-being, a psychosocial component of well-being is a multifaceted concept encompassing both individual capacities and social competencies.