The role of social support and lifestyle in pre-service teachers’ psychological well-being

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore the predictive utility of demographic, social and lifestyle variables in psychological well-being. The participants were 410 pre-service teachers in Turkey. Three research instruments were utilized in the current study: Psychological Well-Being Scale, Lifestyle Inventory and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Both social support and lifestyle variables accounted for the additional variance in psychological well-being above and beyond the effects of demographic variables. Purpose in life was best predicted by beingmarried; lifestyle variables made the most contribution to autonomy; and social support-friend were found to be the best predictor of positive relations with others. It seems that demographic, social support and lifestyle variables play a differential role in psychological well-being.