Representaciones sociales del bienestar psicológico en el contexto de los estudiantes de la Facultad de Contaduría Pública de octavo semestre de la Universidad Santo Tomás seccional Villavicencio

Abstract

This research explores the social representations of psychological well-being among eighth-semester students of the Faculty of Public Accounting, evening program, at Universidad Santo Tomás Villavicencio campus, with the purpose of reflecting on the meanings that shape its understanding within the framework of the institution’s humanistic education. Its objective is to understand, through students’ experiences, the meanings that structure these representations. The theoretical foundation draws on the contributions to psychological well-being by Carol Ryff (1989) and José Luis Grajales (2004), as well as on Denis Jodelet’s (1989) theory of social representations. The study is situated within the interpretative paradigm, grounded in phenomenology, and oriented toward the understanding of language and the construction of meaning. In this sense, its objective is “to understand, in the lived experiences of eighth-semester students of the Faculty of Public Accounting at Universidad Santo Tomás – Villavicencio campus, the underlying meanings that configure the social representations of psychological well-being.” Methodologically, the study follows a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, whose discourses were analyzed from a phenomenological perspective to interpret the configuration of meanings surrounding well-being. The results show that psychological well-being constitutes an essential element in comprehensive university education, beyond the particular circumstances students experience. Finally, recommendations are proposed at both institutional and personal levels.