Publicado em "ICERI2010 Proceedings, ISBN 978-84-614-2439-9"The social-cognitive model of well-being [1] has become an important framework to study satisfaction and adjustment in specific life contexts and in overall life [1] [2]. Taking into consideration this integrative perspective, this paper aims to understand and compare the process of academic satisfaction in European and Mozambican Portuguese speaking college students, and to draw implications for psycho educational interventions and research in those contexts. We present and discuss the results of the assessment of self-efficacy, goal progress, environmental supports, academic adjustment, positive affect and overall life satisfaction dimensions (AAQ; Academic Adjustment Questionnaire [1]), conducted with 305 students attending one public university and one public polytechnic institute in Portugal, and with 465 students attending one public university in Mozambique. A first study of the instrument in Portugal with higher education students [3] revealed values of internal consistency for the seven scales ranging between 0,75 and 0,88 (M =0, 84, SD = 5,00). In this study, the range of internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach alpha) were between 0,52 and 0,78 (M =0,67, SD = 9,5) for the Portuguese sample, and between 0,65 and 0,83 (M =0,75, SD = 5,4) for the African Mozambican sample. Moreover, in the Portuguese sample, positive correlations were registered between the dimensions of academic adjustment, positive affect and satisfaction with life in general. In the Mozambican sample, in turn, in general, moderate and positive correlations were obtained, statistically significant between all the dimensions of the academic adjustment that were evaluated. An analysis of the mean tells us that, in both samples, students tend to have moderate values on the dimensions of the academic adjustment model. The comparison test of means reveals significant differences between the two countries in the overall dimensions of academic adjustment, with the exception of the scale factors to stimulate the academic adjustment. Specifically, the Portuguese students obtain the highest values in the dimensions of self-confidence, overall adjustment, and satisfaction with life. The Mozambican students registered higher results on self- confidence to face academic barriers and progress in their academic goals. The results obtained also evidence that students from both countries perceive they have a support system and incentives in the academic and classroom environments. This is a dimension that is directly and indirectly correlated with academic adjustment, in both samples, which suggests the importance of socio-cognitive dimensions of adjustment to college
