Life satisfaction of non-mobile vs.mobile postgraduates intra EU and outside EU Universities, and its associations with mental health and career attitudes.

Specific attention should be devoted to the needs of young adults enrolled in a mobility abroad programme of their universities. Among mobile vs. non-mobile postgraduates, our study analysed their life satisfaction (LS) as well as the associations with mental health-related factors and career attitudes. We determined factors contributing to their LS.
Method. In 2012/13, three groups (non-mobile = 66; mobile intra-EU = 382; mobile outside-EU = 44) who had obtained a financial aid from the Luxembourgish government, without family’s socioeconomic criteria. Master students completed an online questionnaire, and analyses included multiple linear regression models in which only relationships (p<0.05) were introduced.
Results. Further mobility showed higher levels of LS (outside-EU 8.5/10, intra-EU 7.8 and 7.9 non-mobile). For all groups, health satisfaction (HS) was positively correlated with LS; for mobile outside-EU, it is the only determinant. For mobile intra-EU, the quality of their autonomy and their career adaptability were also associated to LS (regression parameter estimates β: 0.208 and 0.128, respectively), and worry (β:-0.146). For non-mobile, in addition to HS, their career optimism and planning were positively correlated to their LS (β: 0.402 and 0.214, respectively).
Conclusion. Promoting programmes proposed by the universities’ services towards counselling and an accompaniment to their career project may enhance postgraduates’ LS which is a major indicator for a successful mobility. The assessment of outside-EU’ LS was higher than the EU-28 LS’ indicator (age group 25-34 years; in 2013: 7.5/10). More cross-cultural research would be warranted to better understand the etiology of their LS.