College Student Experiences and Happiness: A Multi-Method Exploration

This study explored student happiness and their perceptions of positive and negative experiences in college. A multi-method approach was used with both qualitative and quantitative data collected. One-on-one interviews with 31 college students were conducted face-to-face and via Face-time or Skype. All interviews were taped, transcribed verbatim, and then coded for themes. Inter-rater coding agreement was assessed and discrepancies were resolved through consensus. The resulting themes reflecting both the positive and negative experiences reported included: professors and courses, academic supportive services and resources, co-curricular supportive services and activities, college friendships, and work-school interface. The most frequently reported experience themes were Co-curricular and Non-curricular activities followed by Faculty and Courses. These category rankings did not vary for the positive versus the negative experiences but the valence or desirability of the responses within these categories did differentiate positive from negative experiences. Students higher in happiness reported positive extracurricular and volunteer activities, opportunities for career path, engagement in different clubs and organizations, and positive experiences with faculty. In contrast, students lower in happiness were more likely to report parking frustrations, costs of school, complaints about the cafeteria and negative experiences with faculty or courses. Future research concerning behaviors of college students associated with higher levels of happiness, academic consequences of happiness, and individual weaknesses are discussed