Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated student wellness as a predictor of academic performance and defined wellness as subjective wellbeing, which was measured with the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). It assessed subjective wellbeing in Southern Cross University (SCU) undergraduates and compared this data to the Australian adult normative range. Further, it investigated the relationship of subjective wellbeing and satisfaction with specific lifestyle factors to academic performance. SCU undergraduates (n = 616) completed an electronic survey. Data was collected during session two, 2011, and academic performance was measured by self-reported grade point average (GPAe) from session one. The PWI score of these students was (64.5% SM), indicating "homeostatic defeat" and was approximately 10% lower than the Australian adult normative range (73.4–76.4% SM). Age and relationship status were significantly related to student wellbeing (p < 0.01). PWI correlated positively with GPAe, but accounted for 2.6% of variance, indicating wellbeing is of only minor relevance in this population. Further research is required to test the generalisability of these results to other student populations.