Journal of University Studies

Journal of University Studies

A study on dormitory life of female students from a health perspective

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors
Shirin Ahmania 1
Najmeh Pourian 2
Zahra Mahdavi 3
1 Associate Professor of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
2 MA in Demography, Department of Demography, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
3 MA Student of Urban Planning, Department of Social Planning, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
10.22035/jous.2024.5432.1094
Abstract
Student dormitories are the place where students from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, are willingly or unwillingly placed together for a relatively long period of time. This coexistence and gaining new experiences, while moving away from family support and supervision and relatively distancing themselves from the facilities and amenities of family life, can include privileges and benefits on the one hand and deprivations or problems on the other hand, for their lives and especially their health. Continuing their education is considered a type of secondary socialization, but for students who are forced to settle in a new social space, this socialization also takes on deep and different dimensions, which are important to identify. Identifying the lived experiences of female students regarding dormitory life, with an emphasis on the dimensions of health and healthy behavior, has formed the goals of the present study. By adopting a qualitative methodological approach, in-depth individual interviews and focused group discussions were used to collect field data. The participating unit in the research was female students living in a student dormitory at one of the public universities in Tehran. Finally, qualitative data obtained from interviews with 22 female students living in a dormitory in Tehran were analyzed using thematic analysis. The research findings were categorized into several categories, including: "dominance of the psychosocial dimension of health", "dormitory subculture and  health", "feeling of lack of belonging or boredom with the dormitory", "gender considerations  in dormitory management", "lack of socializing space and boring leisure time", "use of unconventional literature", and "unmet expectations and dissatisfaction (health, nutrition, exercise, ...)". Although students living in dormitories are usually healthy due to their youth, due to the common lack of attention to health maintenance and promotion considerations, the vulnerability of students living in dormitories increases in the dormitory environment. This necessitates the attention of higher education institution officials and their more intelligent policy-making to monitor student health within the framework of student dormitory management policy-making.
Keywords
university dormitories
female students
gender
lived experience
health sociology

Subjects

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Journal of University Studies
Volume 2, Issue 2 - Serial Number 6
Winter 2024
Winter 2024
Pages 27-57

  • Receive Date 17 November 2023
  • Revise Date 11 December 2023
  • Accept Date 19 December 2023