{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,23]],"date-time":"2026-04-23T18:59:10Z","timestamp":1776970750374,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":88,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771545600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Healthcare"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Mental health challenges are increasingly prevalent among higher education students, with significant implications for academic success and personal development. Emerging research suggests that critical thinking dispositions may support psychological well-being by enhancing resilience and adaptive coping. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between critical thinking dispositions and psychological well-being and to identify key sociodemographic predictors in this context. Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed from December 2024 to May 2025, recruiting 429 students from Portuguese higher education institutions via convenience sampling. Participants completed validated self-report measures: the Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale (CTDS) and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS), assessing seven critical thinking dispositions and six well-being dimensions, respectively. Sociodemographic data were also collected. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression were used for data analysis. Results: Students demonstrated moderate to high levels of critical thinking and psychological well-being, with higher scores associated with increased age and academic progression. Significant positive correlations were identified between critical thinking dispositions and all well-being dimensions; personal growth, purpose in life, and autonomy exhibited the strongest associations. Regression analysis revealed that confidence in reasoning, cognitive maturity, and open-mindedness were significant predictors of psychological well-being, explaining 28.7% of the variance. Conversely, inquisitiveness showed a negative association with psychological well-being in the multivariate model, an unexpected finding that warrants cautious interpretation and further investigation. Conclusions: Critical thinking dispositions reflect affective tendencies and habitual ways of engaging with thinking. These dispositions appear to protect psychological well-being in higher education students. Integrating the development of emotional awareness and reflective thinking into curricula may therefore foster resilience and academic success. Further longitudinal research is needed to explore causal mechanisms and intervention efficacy in broader academic contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare14040530","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T13:08:23Z","timestamp":1771592903000},"page":"530","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Linking Critical Thinking Dispositions to Well-Being in Higher Education: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2900-3972","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olga","family":"Valentim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Research Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), 1600-190 Lisbon, Portugal"},{"name":"School of Nursing, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-190 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"RISE-Health, Nursing School of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4703-1712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raquel","family":"Sim\u00f5es de Almeida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CIR, E2S, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2868-7468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rita","family":"Marques","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Portuguese Red Cross Higher School of Health\u2014Lisbon (ESS CVP-Lisbon), 1300-125 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Universidade Cat\u00f3lica Portuguesa (CIIS-UCP), 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology (ciTechCare), 2414-016 Leiria, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7001-8116","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Isabel","family":"Lucas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Portuguese Red Cross Higher School of Health\u2014Lisbon (ESS CVP-Lisbon), 1300-125 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Universidade Cat\u00f3lica Portuguesa (CIIS-UCP), 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental, Universidade de Lisboa (ISAMB-UL), 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7728-0579","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leila","family":"Sales","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Portuguese Red Cross Higher School of Health\u2014Lisbon (ESS CVP-Lisbon), 1300-125 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), 3046-851 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5225-4510","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rita","family":"Payan-Carreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), 7002-554 \u00c9vora, Portugal"},{"name":"Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Educa\u00e7\u00e3o e Psicologia (CIEP), 7002-554 \u00c9vora, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade de \u00c9vora, 7004-516 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Lopes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Education and Psychology, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto CIIE-UP, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"OECD (2021). 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