The Indirect Role of Emotions in University Students’ Psychological Well-Being
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22042810 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Graça Pereira (0000-0001-7987-2562, University of Minho, corresponding author), Raquel Meirelles Gaspar Coelho Guimarães (0000-0002-6687-2018, University of Minho), Ana Cristina Bernardo (0000-0002-9849-981X, University of Minho), Margarida Vilaça (0000-0002-4349-8633, University of Minho) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 950 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/educsci15080950 |
| OpenAlex | W4412640022 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 53 |
Mental health difficulties in university students are an increasing concern, especially after the COVID-19 global crisis. This study used a cross-sectional design to analyze the effect of psychological factors on students’ psychological well-being. Participants were 190 university students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs at a public university. Based on previous research and grounded theoretical models, a conceptual model was proposed to analyze the influence of affect states/experiences (emotion regulation difficulties, anxiety and depression, perceived stress, self-compassion, gratitude, and satisfaction with life) on psychological well-being, including the indirect effect of emotions (negative emotions, positive activation emotions, self-efficacy emotions, prosocial emotions, and serenity emotions), using a path analysis. Multigroup analyses were also performed to test the moderating effect of gender and education level. Findings indicated that self-efficacy emotions had an indirect effect on the relationship between anxiety and depression, self-compassion, and psychological well-being. Both prosocial and self-efficacy emotions indirectly impacted the relationship between gratitude, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being. Being a female and a bachelor student played a moderating role in the final model. The findings suggest that psychological interventions focused on self-efficacy and prosocial emotions are needed to increase psychological well-being in university students
Cognitive psychology · Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Applied Psychology · Emotional Intelligence and Performance · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Social Psychology
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Self-Compassion
Factors that influence mental health of university and college students in the UK
Biobehavioral responses to stress in females
The relationship between gender and life satisfaction
Self-compassion as an emotion regulation strategy in major depressive disorder
Gender differences in academic self-efficacy
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Subjective well-being
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |