One-hundred nineteen Latina/o college students provided perceptions of presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, daily spiritual experiences, and subjective happiness. Perceptions of meaning in life and daily spiritual experiences were significant predictors of subjective happiness. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings is provided, and implications for university staff are offered.
Abdel-KhalekA. M. (2011). Subjective well-being and religiosity in Egyptian college students. Psychological Reports, 108, 54-58.
2.
BrassaiL.PikoB. F.StegerM. F. (2011). Meaning in life: Is it a protective factor for adolescents’ psychological health?International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18, 44-51. doi:10.1007/s12529-010-9089-6
3.
BrofenbrennerU. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In HusenT.PostlethwaiteT. (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education (pp. 1643-1647). Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press.
4.
ByrdD. R.McKinneyK. J. (2012). Individual, interpersonal, and institutional factors associated with the mental health of college students. Journal of American College Health, 60, 185-193. doi:10.1080/07448481.2011.584334
5.
CavazosA. G. (2009). Reflections of a Latina student-teacher: Refusing low expectations. American Secondary Education, 27, 70-79.
6.
CavazosJ.HoltM. L.FlamezB. (2012). Using narrative therapy to help Hispanic students pursue and succeed in higher education: Implications for counselors and counselor educators. Arizona Counseling Journal, 27, 4-14.
7.
CavazosJ.JohnsonM. B.SparrowG. S. (2010). Overcoming personal and academic challenges: Perspectives from Latina/o college students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 9, 304-316. doi:10.1080/15538605.2010524844
8.
ChandlerN.BalkinR. S.PerepiczkaM. (2011). Perceived self-efficacy of licensed professional counselors to provide substance abuse counseling. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 32, 29-42.
9.
ClonanS. M.ChafouleasS. M.McDougalJ. L.Riley-TillmanT. C. (2004). Positive psychology goes to school: Are we there yet?Psychology in Schools, 41, 101-110.
10.
CloudJ. (2009, June11). Staying sane may be easier than you think: A special health report. Time, 173(24), 72-78.
11.
CowenE. L.KilmerR. P. (2002). Positive psychology: Some plusses and some open issues. Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 449-460.
12.
DemirM.OzdemirM.MarumK. P. (2011). Perceived autonomy support, friendship, maintenance, and happiness. The Journal of Psychology, 145, 537-571.
13.
DennyK. G.SteinerH. (2009). External and internal factors influencing happiness in elite collegiate athletes. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 40, 55-72. doi:10.1007/s10578-008-0111-z
14.
DograA. K.BasuS.DasS. (2011). Impact of meaning in life and reasons for living to hope and suicidal ideation: A study among college students. Psychology and Mental Health, 18, 89-102.
15.
DunnM. G.O’BrienK. M. (2009). Psychological health and meaning in life: Stress, social support, and religious coping in Latina/Latino immigrants. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31, 204-227. doi:10.1177/0739986309334799
16.
EllisonC. G.FanD. (2008). Daily spiritual experiences and psychological well-being among US adults. Social Indicators Research, 88, 247-271. doi:10.1007/s11205-007-9187-2
17.
FehringR. J.BrennanP. F.KellerM. L. (1987). Psychological and spiritual well-being in college students. Research in Nursing & Health, 10, 391-398.
18.
FloresL. Y.O’BrienK. M. (2002). The career development of Mexican American adolescent women: A test of Social Cognitive Career Theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 14-27. doi:10.1037//0022-0167.49.1.14
19.
FranklV. E. (1963). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. New York, NY: Washington Square Press.
20.
FriedmanH. S.SchustackM. W. (2010). Personality: Classic theories and modern research. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
21.
GabrieleR. (2008). Orientations to happiness: Do they make a difference in a student’s educational life?American Secondary Education, 36, 88-101.
22.
HolmesJ. D.HardinS. I. (2009). Religiosity, meaning in life, and clinical symptomology: A comparison of African American and European American college students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 23, 103-117.
23.
Kimura-WalshE.YamamuraE. K.GriffinK. A.AllenW. R. (2009). Achieving the college dream: Examining disparities in access to college information among high achieving and non-high achieving Latina students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 8, 298-315. doi:10.1177/1538192708321648
24.
LermaE. (2010). The journey to the doctorate: Successful stories of Hispanic/Latino counselor educators (Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (No. 3451680)
25.
LivingstonK. (2006). God, Aristotle, and the new science of happiness. Free Inquiry, 26, 32-38.
26.
LopezE. J.EhlyS.Garcia-VazquezE. (2002). Acculturation, social support, and academic achievement of Mexican and Mexican American high school students: An exploratory study. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 245-257. doi:10.1001/pits.10009
27.
LyubomirskyS. (2001). Why are some people happier than others? The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being. American Psychologist, 56, 239-249.
28.
LyubomirskyS.LepperH. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137-155.
29.
LyubomirskyS.SheldonK. M.SchkadeD. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111-131.
30.
MarquesS. C.Pais-RibeiroJ. L.LopezS. J. (2011). The role of positive psychology constructs in predicting mental health and academic achievement in children and adolescents: A two-year longitudinal study. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12, 1049-1062. doi:10.1007/s10902010-9244-4
31.
MartinezC. T.ScottC. (2014). In search of the meaning of happiness through flow and spirituality. The International Journal of Health, Wellness, and Society, 4, 37-45.
32.
MyersJ. E.SweeneyT. J.WitmerM. J. (2000). The wheel of wellness counseling for wellness: A holistic model for treatment planning. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78, 251-266.
33.
OjedaL.CastilloL. G.Rosales MezaR.Pina-WatsonB. (2014). Mexican Americans in higher education: Cultural adaptation and marginalization as predictors of college persistence intentions and life satisfaction. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 13, 3-14. doi:10.1177/1538192713498899
34.
OjedaL.FloresL. Y. (2008). The influence of gender, generation level, parents’ education level, and perceived barriers on the educational aspirations of Mexican American high school students. The Career Development Quarterly, 57, 84-95.
35.
PaloutzianR. F.EllisonC. W. (1982). Loneliness, spiritual well-being, and the quality of life. In PeplauL. A.PerlmanD. (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy (pp. 224-237). New York, NY: John Wiley.
36.
PurdyM.DupeyP. (2005). Holistic flow model of spiritual wellness. Counseling and Values, 34, 112-124.
37.
RuizP. (2002). Commentary: Hispanic access to health/mental health services. Psychiatric Quarterly, 73, 85-91.
38.
SegrinC.TaylorM. (2007). Positive interpersonal relationships mediate the association between social skills and psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 637-646. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.01.017
39.
SeligmanM. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York, NY: Free Press.
40.
SeligmanM. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Harper.
41.
SheldonK. M.LyubomirskyS. (2004). Achieving sustainable new happiness: Prospects, practices, and prescriptions. In LinleyA.JosephS. (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 127-145). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
42.
SoetJ.MartinH. (2007). Women and spirituality: An experiential group for female graduate students. Journal of College Counseling, 19, 90-96.
43.
StegerM. F.FrazierP.OishiS.KalerM. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 80-93.
44.
StegerM. F.ShinJ. Y. (2010). The relevance of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire to therapeutic practice: A look at the initial evidence. International Forum on Logotherapy, 33, 95-104.
45.
StrumpferD. J. (2005). Standing on the shoulders of giants: Notes on early positive psychology (Psychofortology). South African Journal of Psychology, 35, 21-45.
46.
SueD. W.SueD. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley.
47.
UnderwoodL. G. (2006). Ordinary spiritual experience: Qualitative research, interpretive guidelines, and population distribution for the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. Archive for the Psychology of Religion/Archiv fur Religionspsychologie, 28, 181-218.
48.
UnderwoodL. G.TeresiJ. A. (2002). The Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale: Development, theoretical description, reliability, exploratory factor analysis, and preliminary construct validity using health-related data. Society of Behavioral Medicine, 24, 22-33.
Van DykeC.GlenwickG.CeceroJ. J.KimS. K. (2009). The relationship of religious coping and spirituality to adjustment and psychological distress in urban early adolescents. Mental Health, Religion, & Culture, 12, 369-383.
51.
Vela-GudeL.CavazosJ.JohnsonM. B.FieldingC.CavazosA. G.CamposL.RodriguezI. (2009). “My counselors were never there”: Perceptions from Latina/o college students. Professional School Counseling, 12, 272-279.
52.
WatsonJ. C. (2009). Native American racial identity development and college adjustment at two-year institutions. Journal of College Counseling, 12, 125-136.
53.
ZhouM. (2001). Progress, decline, stagnation? The new second generation comes of age. In WaldingerR. (Ed.), Strangers at the gates: New immigrants in urban America (pp. 272-307). Berkley: University of California Press.