The Educational Trajectory of Resilience: A Comparative Study of Psychological Well-being, Academic Stress, and Social Media Engagement Between Undergraduate and Postgraduate Social Work Students

Abstract

Background: Well-being, academic stress, and social media are important aspects of a student's life, particularly those pursuing education in social work. The differences that exist among undergraduate students and postgraduate students in terms of these variables need to be considered seriously. Method: The cross-sectional study involved 370 BSW and MSW students from different districts of Karnataka who were recruited using purposive sampling. The methods used for data collection were structured questionnaires to measure socio-demographic attributes, social networking habits, academic stress (using DECORE-Student scale) and psychological well-being. The statistical tools included descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, ANOVA, and logistic regression. Results: The participants in the MSW program showed significantly increased social media usage (p = 0.001) and cognitive academic stress (p = 0.018) than those in the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program. The MSW students also had higher scores on measures of psychological well-being, such as autonomy (p = 0.002), positive relations (p = 0.001), purpose in life (p = 0.023), self-acceptance (p = 0.022), and general well-being (p = 0.009). Logistic regression analysis found that gender (p = 0.012), educational attainment (p ≤ 0.003), and residency location (p = 0.015) were significant predictors Conclusion: While postgraduates had higher academic pressure and usage of social media, they showed better psychological well-being, suggesting that the role of development and resilience could be seen here. Stage-appropriate measures should be applied, especially for undergraduates, to improve their coping mechanisms and psychological well-being.