Chapter 2: The Role of Immersive Wellness in Psychological Capital and Perceived Stress in Predicting Life Satisfaction Among MBA Students

In the demanding environment of business schools, MBA students often face intense academic workloads, competitive peer environments, and career-related uncertainties. These pressures can significantly affect their mental health and overall well-being. The ability to manage stress effectively while maintaining a sense of life satisfaction is, therefore, essential to their academic success and personal growth. Psychological Capital (PsyCap), encompassing hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism, serves as a vital psychological resource that influences students’ attitudes, emotional stability, and coping behaviour (Liu et al., 2023). Within MBA programmes, stress typically arises from stringent academic requirements, placement pressures, and expectations of high performance. Perceived stress negatively impacts life satisfaction by evoking feelings of overwhelm, fatigue, and anxiety, thereby impairing emotional regulation and self-care abilities (Wang et al., 2021). The primary objective of this study is to examine how psychological capital and perceived stress predict life satisfaction among MBA students, while also exploring immersive well-being from an academic perspective. Two separate questionnaires were designed – one assessing life satisfaction and the other measuring students’ understanding of immersive wellness through proactive engagement. The surveys were administered with a one-month gap to avoid response bias and ensure independent data collection. The findings revealed that while students intellectually understood concepts of positive psychology and immersive wellness, their lived experiences of life satisfaction often diverged from these ideals, highlighting a gap between awareness and practice.