Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Resilience.

There is strong empirical evidence on the benefits of emotional competencies, self-esteem, and resilience for well-being in the youth and adult populations. However, little research has been conducted to identify protective factors for well-being among emerging adults in rural areas of Costa Rica, which are particularly vulnerable. This study aims to examine the relationships between emotional competencies and dimensions of psychological well-being, as well as the mediating role of self-esteem and resilience in Costa Rican university students. The sample consisted of 328 students aged 18 to 30 years (M = 21.31, SD = 3.28), of whom 47.90% were women. This study utilized Ryff's Psychological Well-being Scale, the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire, Rosenberg's General Self-esteem Scale, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. The results indicated that emotional competencies, particularly emotion management and regulation, have direct positive effects on psychological well-being. Additionally, self-esteem played a mediating role, showing indirect effects between emotional competencies and the dimensions of psychological well-being. Resilience had a less pronounced mediating role than self-esteem in terms of effect size and the number of significant relationships. Moreover, negative effects were identified between emotional perception and understanding and certain well-being dimensions, such as positive relationships and environmental mastery. The findings provide evidence that emotional competencies, self-esteem, and resilience are key factors in promoting psychological well-being among emerging adults in rural areas of Costa Rica. These results highlight the importance of fostering emotional skills and strengthening self-esteem, particularly in emerging adults from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.