Factors supporting the wellbeing of students at a university

Abstract

The field of wellbeing research with university students has grown exponentially in recent years. Within this field, studies on the wellbeing of students with disabilities have, however, been limited. The purpose of this study was to explore students with disabilities' perceptions of factors that support their wellbeing at university. Guided by a qualitative approach and an interpretive phenomenological research design, a deeper understanding of wellbeing was enabled by considering the perceptions of students with disabilities (n=6) at a large urban university regarding the factors supporting their wellbeing at university. Theoretically, the study was guided by the PERMA Model, the PERMA Plus model, as well as Systems Theory. The data were collected by means of an online focus group discussion. The focus group discussion was transcribed, and a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. The theme analysis revealed that the wellbeing of the students with disabilities was supported through negotiating disability, negotiating online learning, and amplifying self-care and nurturing.