Cultural foundations of university student well-being: a grounded theory study of a multidimensional framework in Indonesia.

Student well-being is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional educational concern, yet its meaning is often transferred across contexts without sufficient cultural clarification. In higher education, university student well-being should be distinguished from general psychological well-being and from school or campus climate because it concerns students' capacity to function, belong, regulate themselves, and access resources within academic life. This study aimed to identify the culturally grounded dimensions of university student well-being among Indonesian students and to explain how these dimensions are connected within a substantive qualitative framework. A qualitative grounded theory design was used. Ninety Indonesian university students aged 18-21 years were selected through purposive maximum-variation sampling to capture diversity in cultural background, academic discipline, socioeconomic situation, and rural-urban experience. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed iteratively using open, axial, and selective coding, constant comparison, analytic memoing, and team-based coding consensus. The analysis generated four interrelated dimensions of university student well-being: academic well-being, social well-being, psychological well-being, and physical and environmental well-being. These dimensions were not independent categories. Selective coding identified cultural-contextual alignment as the core process explaining how students experience well-being when academic demands, relational support, psychological regulation, and resource conditions fit with local values, family expectations, peer norms, and future aspirations. The study contributes a culturally situated conceptual framework rather than a psychometrically evaluated instrument. It provides a foundation for future item generation, content validation, and cross-cultural measurement testing, while guiding universities to design well-being support that integrates learning conditions, belonging, self-regulation, and material access.