University education might bring challenges for students to balance their overall well-being. Personal and familial factors might serve as catalysts for those challenges. Purpose: Grounded in resilience theory, this study examines the role of resources (family structure, authoritative parenting) and assets (grit, stress coping) on college students’ happiness. Participants were 200 college students (88% aged 18-to-24, 87% female, 32% Hispanic/Latino, 31% White, 19% Black/African American) who completed an online survey. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that whereas both contextual and individual factors influence students’ happiness, which reinforce the compensatory model of resilience, individual attributes were the strongest positive contributors to happiness. Findings highlighted the importance of individual qualities throughout this stage of college life. Universities are encouraged to establish environments and programs that actively promote happiness through developing grit and stress management for college students’ developmental outcomes. Several promising avenues for future research to follow from the present study are discussed.
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