Logo image
Back
It Was a Good Day? Time Use and Subjective Well-Being Among Lower-Income College Students
Journal article   Peer reviewed

It Was a Good Day? Time Use and Subjective Well-Being Among Lower-Income College Students

Nicholas A. Bowman, Lauren N. Irwin and Shinji Katsumoto
The Journal of higher education (Columbus), Vol.97(2), pp.340-366
2026
DOI: 10.1080/00221546.2025.2521200

View Online

Abstract

Challenges with mental health and well-being are pervasive throughout higher education, with sizable proportions of students experiencing not only ill-being, but also clinically diagnosable levels of anxiety and depression. To provide a nuanced and rigorous examination of experiences that may shape these outcomes, the present study used experience sampling methods to explore the time use and subjective well-being of students from lower-income backgrounds, who face various pressures and strains on their time. Specifically, participants provided real-time data about their experiences and outcomes at several points each day over a week through a smartphone app. Multilevel analyses were conducted to examine a multi-institutional sample of 9,635 survey observations from 423 undergraduates. The results yielded insights into the ways in which students spent their time; the extent to which students’ experiences predicted changes in their positive and negative well-being throughout the week; and how these relationships varied as a function of students’ race, sex, and first-generation status. The present findings are sometimes consistent with prior research and sometimes challenge the findings and assumptions of previous work. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
 Mental Health College Students Time use well-being ecological momentary assessment

Details

Metrics

68 Record Views
Logo image