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Relationship between Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being among

Indian College Students

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Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research ISSN NO: 0022-1945

Relationship between Self-esteem and

Psychological Well-being among Indian College
Students
Surbhi Singhal1, Dr. Nidhi Prakash*2
#
Department of Psychology, University of Delhi
1
[email protected]
2
[email protected]

Abstract— The present study attempted to determine the level of self-esteem and psychological well-being among Indian college students
and examine the gender differences associated with these variables. The study further assessed the relationship between self-esteem and
psychological well-being and investigated whether self-esteem is a significant predictor of psychological well-being. Data were collected
from 122 Indian college students living in Delhi-NCR region belonging to age group of 18-28 years using purposive sampling technique.
Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) and Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) were used for measuring self-esteem and
psychological well-being respectively. IBM SPSS ver. 20 was used for statistical analysis. The findings revealed that the college students
reported moderate level of self-esteem and psychological distress. A significant positive relationship between self-esteem and
psychological well-being was determined. No significant differences were found in self-esteem and psychological well-being level of
college students based on gender which suggests a significant change in Urban India providing equal opportunities and resources to
male and female college students. Further, regression analysis showed that self-esteem significantly predicted psychological well-being.
Psychological distress among college students can be dealt by providing counseling in college premises regarding mental health
problems and other difficulties experienced by students in their routine lives. Given that the self-esteem is a significant determinant of
psychological well-being, healthy self-esteem development is crucial for enhancing positive mental health outcomes among college
students.

Keywords— college students, gender, Indian, psychological well-being, psychological distress, self-esteem

I. INTRODUCTION
While the quest for happiness and satisfaction is nearly universal, the way to this bliss and shapes of accomplished joy can
differ broadly across individuals and circumstances. With a view to encourage people to lead a happy and fulfilling life, the field
of positive psychology has invigorated a developing enthusiasm to study psychological well-being and various aspects attached to
it. College students are future of the nation. College period is a significant part of a student‘s life as it is a transforming phase for
students where they are presented to the different psychological and social difficulties (Arnett, 2000) of early adulthood and learn
to take responsibilities regarding their ways of living. In changing times of modernity, college students are facing even more
complex problems than earlier times (Chao, 2012) thus leading to more psychological disturbances in their routine lives (Garcia,
Garcia, Castillio & Queralt, 2011). Some persistent stressors that young college students experience include their higher
aspirations, parental expectations, peer pressure, transforming social relations, and struggle for a healthy self-identity formation,
experimenting with novel ideas and interacting with new people. Other remarkable issues pertaining to daily life hassles (Sim,
2000) incorporate ineffective time management, changing family dynamics, disappointment from one‘s own performance, sense
of loneliness and worthlessness, excessive worrying about future and unclear thought processes (Kumaraswamy, 2013). In view of
the present challenges in this dynamically changing world, it is critically important to study the psychological well-being among
college students.
Furthermore, self-esteem plays a vital role in an individual‘s overall healthy personality development (Orth & Robins, 2014).
Self-esteem is one of the most important factors related to psychological well-being (Taylor & Brown, 1988) and is significantly
identified with various aspects of well-being or adjustment. Therefore, healthy self-esteem is required to cope with the
psychological distress which may arise during this challenging phase. Hence, it becomes essential to promote the psychological
health of the Indian youth to enhance their productivity and formation of positive attitudes in leading a more fulfilling life. Thus,
the present research will contribute to the comprehensive understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and psychological
well-being among college students, and gender differences associated with these psychological variables. Further, it is important
to measure the predictive value of self-esteem in determining the psychological well-being among college students so that the self-
esteem, if significant, can be considered for enhancing the well-being level of the Indian college students.
In view of the above, the present paper discusses the meaning of psychological well-being and self-esteem, related empirical
studies on the relationship between self-esteem and psychological well-being, and the gender differences associated with these

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variables. The succeeding section describes the methodology used in this research, followed by the results and discussions.
Lastly, directions for future research and implications of the study are delineated.
A. Psychological Well-being
Ryff (1989) defined psychological well-being as the optimal psychological functioning and experience, comprising of six
dimensions: self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relations with others and purpose in life. Deci & Ryan
(2008) conceptualised psychological well-being using two perspectives: hedonic i.e. an aggregation of positive affective states
such as happiness and eudemonic i.e. functioning with optimal effectiveness in personal and social life. Psychological well-being
affects an individual‘s emotional and psychological processes, enhances his/her mental health as it incorporates principles that can
improve his/her physiological, informative, individual, professional and family health, and by establishing positive social bonds
(Asli Azad, Shariat, Farhadi & Shahidi, 2018).
Psychological well-being is a multidimensional concept comprising of attitudes towards one‘s life. Health is a significant
component of psychological well-being and psychological well-being has a considerable impact on the general health of an
individual (Ryff, 2014). The subjective well-being can be understood in terms of the positive and negative interpersonal affective
states (Grossi & Compare, 2014). It does not expect individuals to focus solely on positive emotions and avoiding negative
feelings as painful emotions, for instance, disappointment, sadness, anxiety and anger are also a natural part of one‘s life.
However, he/she should be able to deal with negative feelings and emotions effectively to maintain sustainable well-being. When
a negative emotion last for a longer time, psychological well-being is compromised causing emotional and affective distress,
further interfering with an individual‘s capacity to work in everyday‘s life (Huppert, 2009). Greater psychological well-being
leads to enhanced physical and mental health, formation of better social relationships and enables him/her to live a happy and
balanced life.
B. Self-esteem
Self-esteem constitutes an essential component of healthy personality development of an adult, which is accomplished in a
specific social and cultural setup, further having implications for individuals‘ lives (Orth & Robins, 2014). Self-esteem refers to
the self-evaluations of an individual in the form of positive and negative views as valuable (Rosenberg, 1965). Self-esteem is
conceptualised as the perceptions that an individual makes about oneself which are generally viewed as positive or negative
(Ciccarelli and White, 2015). Mruk (2006) views self-esteem as a psychic concept by the virtue of which an individual develops
competence to deal with obstacles that he/she experiences throughout life. Furthermore, Sociological Model of Self-esteem
(Cooley‘s, 1902) states that the societal factors play an important role in determining the self-esteem of an individual indicating
that the young students may evaluate themselves positively if they are valued by the society in general. Coopersmith (1967)
indicated that the development of self-esteem is influenced by the attention an individual gets from others, the level of
acknowledgement and respect he/she feels.
As per Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 2010; Tajfel & Turner, 1986), the evaluation of self depends on the social identities
formed by being a part of the group. Those individuals who perceive their social groups positively report higher self-esteem than
those individuals who perceive their social groups in a negative way. High self-esteem contributes to enhanced happiness, and
makes an individual significantly more effective and confident while interacting with external environment. On the other hand,
individuals possessing low self-esteem levels are more sensitive to other‘s perceptions about them which lower their confidence
levels during external interactions leading to greater feelings of pessimism influencing their social activities and causing more
stress (Meszaros & De Wals, 2011).
C. Relationship between Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being
Diener (1984) determined three major components of well-being namely life satisfaction, positive and negative affective states.
While studying the profiles of happy people, he identified four personality traits- self-esteem, extraversion, optimism and self-
control (Myers & Diener, 1995). Therefore, self-esteem is one such relevant aspect that influences the psychological well-being of
an individual. According to self-affirmation theory, higher self-esteem acts as a buffer against stressful experiences and failures
(Steele, 1988). Self-esteem is a significant antecedent for happiness and is positively associated with feelings of happiness
(DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; Diener & Diener, 1995; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 2006). Positive perspective regarding own self
advances happiness and mental health of an individual (Taylor & Brown, 1988). Diener (1984) mentioned that high self-esteem
significantly predicts subjective well-being of an individual. The Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) posits that fulfilment
of basic psychological needs namely autonomy, competence and relatedness contribute significantly towards positive outcomes in
life and thwarting of these needs hamper the human functioning and well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000). It mentions that the
environment has a considerable impact on human lives; hence humans‘ well-being depends on their environment for satisfaction
of these psychological needs for adapting effectively to the dynamic changes and enhanced functioning of life. Diener et al. (2010)
further determined that various important aspects of human functioning such as healthy relationships, self-competence and
meaningfulness in life are related to psychological well-being. People with high self-esteem show more positive feelings such as
satisfaction and optimism while lesser anxiety, depression, stress and negative mood (Pyszczynski, Greenberg, Solomon, Arndt &
Schimel, 2004). Self-esteem and life satisfaction are found to be positively related among university students indicating the

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importance of higher self-esteem in enhancing satisfaction with one‘s life (Patel, Tiwari, Singh & Lindinger-Sternart, 2018) and
psychological health, well-being and positive functioning in adolescents (Orth, Robins & Widaman, 2011).
D. Gender Differences associated with Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being
Research on gender differences associated with self-esteem among students has shown contradictory findings. Some studies
indicated that male students possess high self-esteem than female students (Moksnes & Espnes, 2012; Moksnes, Moljord, Espnes,
& Byrne, 2010) while other studies reported no significant gender differences associated with self-esteem (Patel et al., 2018;
Coelho, Marchante, and Jimerson, 2016; Işiklar, 2012; Erol & Orth, 2011; Tam, Lee, Har & Pook (2011). Akter (2015) reported
that females possess higher level of psychological well-being than males. On the contrary, other studies have reported higher
psychological distress among females than males (Boudreault-Bouchard, Dion, Hains, Vandermeerschen, Laberge & Perron, 2013;
Botticello, 2009). Contrary to this, most studies showed no significant differences in psychological well-being among male and
female college students (Stamp, Crust, Swann, Perry, Clough & Marchant, 2015; Kotar, 2013; Gill, 2007; Jose & Thomas, 2005).

II. AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and psychological well-being among
college students. The specific objectives of the study were:
1. To examine whether self-esteem is a significant predictor of psychological well-being
2. To compute the gender differences associated with self-esteem and psychological well-being among college students

III. HYPOTHESIS
In consistence with the theoretical framework, following hypotheses were formulated for the study:
Hypothesis 1: There will be a significant positive relationship between Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being.
Hypothesis 2: Self-esteem is a significant predictor of Psychological Well-being.
Hypothesis 3: There will be significant gender differences in Self-esteem level among college students.
Hypothesis 4: There will be significant gender differences in Psychological well-being level among college students.

IV. MATERIALS AND METHODS

It is a quantitative study based on non-experimental research design. The present study is descriptive, correlational and
comparative in nature.
A. Participants
The participants were 122 college students, 54 males and 68 females, of age group 18-28 years from Delhi-NCR region in India.
Purposive sampling method was used for selection of these college students.
B. Instruments
A self-formulated questionnaire was employed to collect demographic details of the participants such as age, gender,
educational qualification, residence and employment status. The global self-esteem levels were measured using Rosenberg Self-
esteem Scale (RSES) developed by Rosenberg (1965). For psychological well-being, Psychological General Well-Being Index
(PGWBI) developed by Dupuy (1990) was used. It assesses psychological and general well-being in 6 domains i.e. positive well-
being, self-control, anxiety, depressed mood, vitality and general health.
C. Procedure
The questionnaires were sent to the participants using Email services and personal messages through phone. The purpose of the
study was mentioned in the forms and informed consent was obtained prior to the study. The participants were assured that their
responses will remain confidential and their information will be used strictly for academic purposes only. SPSS ver.20 was used
for statistical analysis and hypotheses testing. Pearson‘s Correlation method was used to study the relationship between self-
esteem and psychological well-being. Independent Sample t-test was used to compute the gender differences based on self-esteem
and psychological well-being levels among college students. Further, regression Analysis was used to find whether self-esteem is
a significant predictor of psychological well-being.

V. RESULTS
The demographic data given by 122 college students showed that 68 (56%) were females and 54 (44%) were males. The mean
age of the students was 22.6 years. 35 (28.69%) were undergraduates, 38 (31.15%) were graduates and 49 (40.16%) were post-
graduate students. 69 (57%) students were unemployed and 53 (43%) students were employed i.e. doing part-time, paid
internships and earning income from other sources.
On self-esteem and psychological well-being, mean scores on self-esteem (M=29.25, SD= 4.72) were found to be of ‗moderate‘
level. The mean scores on overall psychological well-being (M=66.75, SD=17.61) showed that students reported ‗moderate‘ level
of psychological distress. (Refer to Table-1 and Table-2)

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Table-1 Descriptive Statistics of Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being among Indian College Students showing Means,
Standard Deviations (SD), Skewness, Standard Error of Skewness (SES), Kurtosis and Standard Error of Kurtosis (SEK)

Variables N Mean SD Skewness SES Kurtosis SEK Min Ma

x
Self-esteem 122 29.25 4.72 -.27 0.22 0.46 0.44 15 40
Overall Psychological Well-being 122 66.75 17.61 -.31 0.22 1.18 0.44 11 110
Positive Well-being 122 11.07 3.49 -.32 0.22 -0.17 0.44 2 20
Self-control 122 9.55 2.95 -.64 0.22 0.90 0.44 0 15
Anxiety 122 14.39 5.18 -.18 0.22 0.30 0.44 0 25
Depressed mood 122 9.77 3.33 -.77 0.22 0.22 0.44 0 15
Vitality 122 12.25 3.21 -.05 0.22 0.22 0.44 4 20
General Health 122 9.71 2.87 -.96 0.22 1.65 0.44 0 15

Table-2 Key showing the interpretation of scores on Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being
Variables Level of Variables Scores Range

Self-esteem High 35-40

Moderate 26-34
Low 10-25
Psychological Well-being Positive Psychological Well-being ≥96 and 110

No Distress ≥73 and ≤95

Moderate Distress ≥60 and ≤72

Severe Distress <60

Inter-correlation matrix revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between self-esteem and overall psychological
well-being (r=.53, p<.01) and all of its subscales [positive well-being (r=.47, p<.01), self-control (r=.46, p<.01), anxiety (r=.46,
p<.01), depressed mood (r=.45, p<.01), vitality (r=.44, p<.01) and general health (r=.40, p<.01)] and therefore hypothesis 1 was
not rejected. (Refer to Table-3)

Table-3 Relationship between Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being using Bivariate Correlation Coefficients ®
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1 Self-esteem 1

2 Overall Psychological Well-being .53** 1

3 Positive Well-being .47** .82** 1

4 Self-control .46** .83** .65** 1

5 Anxiety .46** .90** .63** .69** 1

6 Depressed mood .45** .85** .59** .65** .76** 1

7 Vitality .44** .84** .74** .66** .66** .62** 1

8 General Health .40** .74** .49** .55** .60** .59** .55** 1

To predict overall psychological well-being based on self-esteem [β =.534, t (120) =6.919, p<.01], a significant regression
equation was found [F (1, 121) =47.866, p<.01], with R 2 of .285. Furthermore, self-esteem predicted positive well-being (22.2%,
p<.01), self-control (21.0%, p<.01), anxiety (20.7%, p<.01) and depressed mood (20.4%, p<.01) better than vitality (19.3%, p<.01)
and general health (15.6%, p<.01) which implies that the self-esteem was a significant predictor of psychological well-being and
all of its subscales, and therefore hypothesis 2 was not rejected. (Refer to Table-4)

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Table-4 Summary of Regression Analysis of Self-esteem as a predictor of Psychological Well-being and all of its subscales
Dependent Variables R R2 Adj.R2 F Β t Sig.
(p-value)

Psychological Well-being .534 .285 .279 47.866 .534 6.919 .000**

Positive Well-being .472 .222 .216 34.325 .472 5.859 .000**
Self-control .458 .210 .203 31.841 .458 5.643 .000**
Anxiety .455 .207 .200 31.269 .455 5.592 .000**
Depressed mood .452 .204 .198 30.794 .452 5.549 .000**
Vitality .439 .193 .186 28.728 .439 5.360 .000**
General Health .395 .156 .149 22.138 .395 4.705 .000**

**p<.01

On Gender differences, no statistically significant differences in means were found on self-esteem (t=-0.80, p=.426), hence
hypothesis 3 was rejected. Also, results showed no significant mean differences on overall psychological well-being (t=-0.79,
p=.429) or any of its subscales [positive well-being (t=-0.79, p=.429), self-control (t=-1.07, p=.286), anxiety (t=-1.08, p=.281),
depressed mood (t=0.19, p=.844), vitality (t=0.09, p=.923) and general health (r=-1.63, p=.106)] between male and female
students. Thus, male and female students did not differ significantly on self-esteem and psychological well-being and therefore
hypothesis 4 was rejected. (Refer to Table-5)

Table-5 Means, Standard Deviations (SD), Standard Error Means (SEM) and t-values showing differences in scores
between Gender on Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being

Males (N=54) Females (N=68) T Sig.

Variables Mean SD SEM Mean SD SEM
Self-esteem 29.63 4.55 0.62 28.94 4.86 0.59 -0.80 .426
Psychological Well-being 68.17 19.43 2.64 65.62 16.08 1.95 -0.79 .429
Positive Well-being 11.22 3.79 0.52 10.94 3.26 0.40 -.0.44 .661
Self-control 9.87 3.27 0.44 9.29 2.67 0.32 -1.07 .286
Anxiety 14.96 5.60 0.76 13.94 4.82 0.59 -1.08 .281
Depressed mood 9.70 3.54 0.48 9.821 3.18 0.39 0.19 .844
Vitality 12.22 3.40 0.46 12.28 3.08 0.37 0.09 .923
General Health 10.19 2.82 0.38 9.34 2.87 0.35 -1.63 .106

VI. DISCUSSION
The present study sought to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and psychological well-being among Indian
college students, further examining gender differences associated with these variables. The college students reported a ‗moderate‘
level of self-esteem implying that they possessed positive attitudes about their self and positive perceptions regarding their overall
self-worth (Rosenberg, 1965). The students feel adequately competent that is they perceive themselves as capable of carrying out
various essential activities in their personal and professional lives, and value themselves based on other‘s positive appraisals
regarding their abilities and personality traits. However, the students reported a ‗moderate‘ level of psychological distress in the
present study implying that young students face various stressors in college life due to which their psychological well-being is
compromised. This can be attributed to the subjective interpretation of their changing life experiences and persistent challenges
such as the beginning of their college life, transitory phase from childhood to adulthood (Burris, Brechting, Carlson, Salsman,
2009), routine life hassles such as financial stress (Lange & Byrd, 1998), worries regarding educational requirements (Sim, 2000),
academic pressure such as scoring high scholastic grades (Kumaraswamy, 2013), a sudden realization of responsibilities for one‘s
lifestyle habits (Colic Baric, Satalic & Lukesic, 2003), and increased competitiveness with peers due to social comparison
processes to be extremely stressful by young students. Ineffective time management skills may create an imbalance in the personal
and professional lives of young students such as their inability to complete assignments, projects and preparation for regular class
tests due to family responsibilities, extracurricular activities, and part-time job requirements (Kumaraswamy, 2013; Abiddin &
Ismail, 2011) thus lowering psychological well-being level of the college students. Furthermore, despite having an appropriate
level of self-esteem, students reported psychological distress at a moderate level which could be explained by the possibility that
the global self-esteem is generally assessed on domains such as physical appearance, academic/professional outcomes, or social

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approval (Harter, 1999). It is possible that the students evaluate their self-worth as per attaining certain standards, their desire to
be valued by others and their recent experiences of success or failure. This contingent self-esteem lowers students‘ ability to
handle negative life experiences appropriately, making them more reactive to routine life events and situations (Paradise & Kernis,
2002) thus causing psychological distress to them. Hence, the vulnerable feelings of immediate self-worth are responsive to life
changes; challenging life circumstances, daily life hassles, social comparison processes, and inefficient management skills to cope
with fast-paced lives act as contributory factors in elevating the psychological distress among college students.
Furthermore, the results showed that there existed a significant positive relationship between self-esteem and overall
psychological well-being and all of its subscales implying that self-esteem was positively related with overall psychological well-
being and its dimensions of positive well-being, self-control, vitality and general health, consistent with the previous findings by
Patel et al. (2018), Orth et al. (2011) and Neff & McGeehee (2010) which depicts that the individuals who feel positive about
themselves generally possess good feelings about their existence, and also face and conquer their problems confidently. Moreover,
self-esteem was found to be a significant predictor of psychological well-being implying that higher self-esteem is a powerful
factor in determining the psychological well-being as consistent with the previous findings of Poudel, Gurung & Khanal (2020),
Azad et al. (2018), Arumugam, Jayachander & Joshi (2013), Neff & McGeehee (2010) and Ayyash-Abdo and Alamuddin (2007)
as people who have higher self-esteem usually report greater life satisfaction, positive emotional states (Pyszczynski et al., 2004),
meaningfulness and vitality (Ryan & Frederick, 1997). The present findings can be explained in view of Self-Determination
Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) which states that an individual is intrinsically motivated to satisfy three fundamental psychological
needs namely, autonomy, relatedness and competence, and high self-esteem (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2004) results
when there is an appropriate balance between these basic psychological nutrients of life, further enhancing the psychological well-
being level of an individual. Therefore, the substantial gratification of the psychological needs of college students in terms of their
perceived capabilities to perform routine activities, autonomy to learn novel things, explore interests and opportunities in
educational life, and a sense of belongingness with others explain the positive relationship between their self-esteem and
psychological well-being levels among college students. Additionally, Sociometer Theory (Leary and Baumeister, 2000; Leary
and Downs, 1995) which posits that the self-esteem of an individual is a manifestation of his/her social belongingness and degree
of his/her relational value further explains the positive relationship between self-esteem and psychological well-being. As social
bonds are more salient in collectivistic cultures, young adults greatly emphasize on their interpersonal attachments and familial
relationships. Hence, higher self-esteem significantly predicts higher psychological well-being and this may be due to self-esteem
being a potential indicator of a student‘s relational value. However, self-esteem was also found to be positively associated with
anxiety and depressed mood subscales of psychological well-being which can be attributed to the unrealistically high expectations
from oneself in academic performance or as such in life leading to frustration, anxiety, and depressed mood among young students
(Emler, 2001). In a collectivistic nation like India, others‘ perceptions regarding one‘s potential and quality of interpersonal
relationships (Priya & Muralidaran, 2014) are perceived to be more significant thus, high parental expectations (Sim, 2000) and
lack of meaningfulness in social relationships despite a sense of social inclusion may cause feelings of anxiety and depressed
mood among college students. Besides, the long-term orientation towards achieving one‘s goals prevents students to perceive their
achievements in totality unless they get approval from others causing anxiety (Hofstede, 1983). Thus, the fulfilment of students‘
psychological needs and degree of relational value significantly contributes towards the positive relationship between self-esteem
and overall psychological well-being while the collectivism, high self and parental expectations and lack of meaningful social
relationships explains the positive association of self-esteem with anxiety and depressed mood among college students.
The present study also examined the gender differences based on self-esteem and psychological well-being among Indian
college students. The results showed that there existed no significant differences between male and female college students on
self-esteem measure implying that male and female students reported similar levels of self-esteem, consistent with the previous
findings from many research studies by Poudel et al. (2020), Patel et al. (2018), Malinauskas & Dumciene (2016), Coelho,
Marchante & Jimerson (2016) and Tam et al. (2011). This can be attributed to the changes in gender stereotypes as the societal
expectations concerning the social roles of males and females have transformed since the mid-20th century (Eagly, Natar, Miller,
Kaufmann & Sczesny, 2019). Traditional gender role-beliefs may be considered irrelevant especially in modern and civilized
societies as males and females can carry out similar tasks as per new role demands of today‘s times. In urban India, unlike
previous times, there are lesser restrictions on females like staying inside their homes, performing household chores, and taking
care of other family members. Nowadays, Indian society is encouraging young females to step out of their homes and providing
equal opportunities to young female and male students to accomplish their goals and become successful in their lives. Young
females receive greater support from their families which motivates them to avail themselves of higher education and flourish
their intellectual capabilities (Jain & Dixit, 2014). Furthermore, higher academic achievements foster the entry of young females
into superior jobs and prestigious occupations similar to males (Cortes & Pan, 2018) thus contributing to the healthy self-esteem
levels of young female students. Thus, greater gender equality, educational gains, increased economic independence, and social
appraisals contribute to the insignificant gender differences in self-esteem among Indian college students.

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Lastly, the current findings revealed that there existed no significant gender differences in psychological well-being among
college students implying that male and female students had a similar level of psychological well-being, consistent with the
previous findings by Waghmare (2016), Stamp et al. (2015) and Kotar (2013). The present findings can be justified as per the
Basic Psychological Need Theory which posits that the individuals‘ perceptions regarding the fulfilment of their physical and
psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000) determine their subjective well-being level.
Therefore, the non-significant differences in psychological well-being level among college students can be explained by the
similarities in individual and cultural factors (King, Reno & Novo, 2014) such as belonging to same age groups, equal access to
informational and instrumental resources, opportunities and powers that enable male and female students to satisfy their personal
and psychological needs. In addition, the equal availability of social and emotional resources such as social support, parental
expectations and emotional expressiveness among males and female students, especially in urban India may also contribute
towards the insignificant gender variations in their psychological well-being level. Furthermore, Gender Similarities Hypothesis
which states that men and women are similar on most psychological constructs (Hyde, 2005) also support the current findings
implying that males and females are not biologically predisposed to experience different level of psychological well-being. Other
probable reason for the present findings could be explained by the social comparison processes as males and females engage
themselves in in-group (same gender) social comparisons rather than out-group (opposite gender) social comparisons (Batz & Tay,
2018) making male and female students compare their life situations, circumstances and challenges with same-gender group thus
contributing towards non-significant gender differences in psychological well-being. Thus, the personal and psychological need
fulfilment, shifting standards of society, greater social equity, and in-group social comparisons among male and female students
act as contributing factors in determining the insignificant differences in psychological well-being among male and female college
students.

VII. CONCLUSION
Overall, students‘ self-esteem assessment demonstrated a moderate level of self-esteem among college students which suggests
the importance of personal, cultural and societal factors in determining the students‘ positive perceptions about themselves in
terms of their competence and self-worth. Immediate vulnerable feelings of self-worth, challenging life experiences and routine
life hassles such as academic requirements, unmet expectations from oneself, parents and peers contribute to the moderate level of
psychological distress among college students. Psychological conditions such as anxiety and depressed mood can be dealt with by
appointing counsellors in college premises to assist young students in coping effectively with their daily life issues. The positive
relationship between self-esteem and psychological well-being among college students suggests that the fulfilment of personal and
psychological needs, social belongingness and respect in society bring positive outcomes for college students. Additionally, self-
esteem plays a significant role in determining psychological well-being indicating that the development of healthy self-esteem is
an essential ingredient in promoting overall mental health and well-being among college students. Non-significant gender
differences in self-esteem and psychological well-being among college students further reveal positive transformation in urban
India where traditional gender role-beliefs are no more relevant to these psychological variables as greater gender equality
prevails in terms of personal, social and professional resources and opportunities in modern Indian societies.
The present study assessed only global self-esteem level of the college students using explicit measures; further studies
can measure both implicit and explicit self-esteem to assess its impact on psychological well-being among Indian college students.
Separate components of self-esteem such as personal, collective and relational self-esteem can be assessed to gain a
comprehensive understanding of the overall self-concept among college students. Further, the future studies can consider other
important aspects such as academic stress, social competence and perceived social support to explore the relationship between
self-esteem and psychological well-being among college students.

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