Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Mar 2023)

The Role of Self-Esteem in the Relationship Between Psychological Capital and Anxiety of Left-Behind Experience College Students During COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Study

  • Li ZH,
  • Wang J,
  • Cheng X,
  • Mao YC,
  • Zhang KD,
  • Yu WJ,
  • Li YQ,
  • Huang K,
  • Ding K,
  • Yang XJ,
  • Hu CY,
  • Zhang XJ

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 727 – 737

Abstract

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Zhen-Hua Li,1,* Jie Wang,1,* Xin Cheng,1,* Yi-Cheng Mao,1 Kang-Di Zhang,1 Wen-Jie Yu,1 Ying-Qing Li,1 Kai Huang,1,2 Kun Ding,1 Xiao-Jing Yang,1 Cheng-Yang Hu,3 Xiu-Jun Zhang1,4 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Hospital Infection Prevention and Control, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Humanistic Medicine, School of Humanistic Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 4Center for Evidence-Based Practice, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Cheng-Yang Hu; Xiu-Jun Zhang, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86 551 65167031 ; +86 551 65169635, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on public mental health. However, less attention has been paid to left-behind experience college students (LBEs). This online study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and anxiety among LBEs during COVID-19 pandemic, and further analyze the mediation role of self-esteem between them.Methods: A total of 9990 students were chosen using the stratified cluster sampling method. Three self-reported questionnaires were used to assess the PsyCap, self-esteem, and anxiety, respectively. All the statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 23.0 and R, and to further investigate the mediation effect of self-esteem in the association of PsyCap with anxiety, AMOS 23.0 was used to build a structural equation model.Results: PsyCap, self-esteem, and anxiety were significantly correlated among LBEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. PsyCap affects anxiety directly (β = – 0.22, SE = 0.051, 95% CI: – 0.27, – 0.17, P < 0.05). In addition, self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between PsyCap and anxiety (mediating effect value = – 0.16, 95% CI: – 0.20, – 0.13, P < 0.05).Conclusion: During the pandemic of COVID-19, left-behind experience had a negative influence on the PsyCap and self-esteem of college students. In addition, for LBEs, self-esteem plays an important mediating role between PsyCap and anxiety. Therefore, from the perspective of PsyCap and self-esteem, schools should translate them into practical educational strategies to enhance the mental health and mitigate the anxiety levels of LBEs.Keywords: left-behind experience, COVID-19, psychology, mental health

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