The Mental Health Benefits of kind University Climate: Perception of Kindness at University Relates to Longitudinal Increases in Well-Being

Abstract

Perceptions of kindness at schools has been found to be associated with increased well-being and academic outcomes in younger adolescents like primary and secondary school students. However, no study has been carried out to examine the link of this organizational-level kindness to well-being in older adolescents. This research explores the association of university kindness with life satisfaction when controlling for auto-regressor effects, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism in selected Chinese adolescents. Cross-lagged panel structural equation modeling showed that Time 1 university kindness was linked to increased Time 2 life satisfaction and Time 3 life satisfaction. There was also an evidence of reciprocal association as earlier levels of life satisfaction (i.e., Time 1 life satisfaction and Time 2 life satisfaction) were consistently linked to subsequent increases in university kindness. This research underscores the mental health benefits associated with perceptions of kindness in university contexts above and beyond the effects of Big Five personality factors.