Abstract

The transition to university implies that students assume greater autonomy in their decisions, roles and responsibilities. The objective of this work was to describe the profiles of well-being in university students of Psychology in order to evaluate the predictive capacity of the perception of autonomy in the dimensions of well-being in university students of Psychology. A descriptive, associative design of a predictive type was used, with the participation of 202 students (Women = 170; Men = 32; M age = 19.0; SD = 1.77). The instruments used were the PERMA-Profiler for the evaluation of well-being and the Self-Regulation of Learning questionnaire for the evaluation of the perception of autonomy. As a result, over 40% of the students reported, according to the PERMA-Profiler scale, experiencing a high frequency of positive emotions, commitment, positive relationships and purpose. Positive and significant correlations were identified between the dimensions of well-being and the perception of autonomy. The regression model showed that autonomy explains 11% of well-being, F(1,201) = 26.194, P<0.01. Higher levels of student autonomy would increase their well-being. In conclusion, the findings support the postulates of the Self-Determination Theory, arguing that satisfying fundamental psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relationships) leads to greater well-being.