The mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between social support and affective experiences among undergraduate students in Turkey

Background

While many studies have explored the direct impact of psychosocial factors on affective experiences, there remains a gap in understanding the specific factors that mediate the relationships between social support and affective outcomes.

Objective

The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem in the association between social support and affective experiences among a sample of Turkish undergraduate students.

Method

The study utilized an online survey to recruit 300 participants, with a majority of female participants (59.33 %). The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 28 years (M_age = 21.15; SD = 1.86). Participants completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), and the Scales of Positive and Negative Experiences (Diener et al., 2010).

Results

The mediation model with bootstrapping technique analysis revealed that social support was significantly associated with self-esteem and positive affective experiences. Self-esteem was also significantly associated with both positive and negative affective experiences. Additionally, self-esteem was found to partially mediate the relationship between social support and both positive and negative affective experiences, indicating that self-esteem acted as a mediator in these associations.

Conclusions

These findings contribute to our understanding of the association between social support, self-esteem, and affective experiences and have implications for the development and implementation of interventions aimed at enhancing the positive effects of social support and self-esteem on affective experiences among young adults.