Perceived social support and meaning in life of adolescents: roles of psychological insecurity and psychological capital
摘要
Adolescents’ well-being is positively closely related to meaning in life. Despite several studies investigating the relationship between perceived social support and meaning in life, the potential mediating roles remain underexplored. This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and life meaning among adolescents, emphasizing the mediating role of psychological insecurity and psychological capital (i.e., hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience). A sample of 372 junior high school students from China (M = 13.76, SD = 0.7; 47.6% female) engaged in this study. The results indicated that perceived social support had both a direct association with adolescents’ meaning in life and an indirect link through psychological insecurity, hope, optimism, and self-efficacy. The results indicated perceived social support not only directly related toadolescents’ meaning in life but also indirectly associated with it by lowering psychological insecurity and fostering hope, optimism, and self-efficacy. This study provided practical insights into factors associated with adolescents’ sense of meaning in life.