Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university students

Amidst growing scholarly interest in the integrative effects of psychological traits on well-being, the roles of coping humor, self-esteem, and resilience as pathways to subjective happiness remain underexplored. This study examined a sequential mediation model among these variables in Taiwanese uni...

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Main Authors: Chin-Wen Liao, Chih-Yu Ting, Yao-Chung Cheng, Kai-Jie Chen, An-Sheng Liu, Tzu-Ju Hsueh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Acta Psychologica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825001921
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author Chin-Wen Liao
Chih-Yu Ting
Yao-Chung Cheng
Kai-Jie Chen
An-Sheng Liu
Tzu-Ju Hsueh
author_facet Chin-Wen Liao
Chih-Yu Ting
Yao-Chung Cheng
Kai-Jie Chen
An-Sheng Liu
Tzu-Ju Hsueh
author_sort Chin-Wen Liao
collection DOAJ
description Amidst growing scholarly interest in the integrative effects of psychological traits on well-being, the roles of coping humor, self-esteem, and resilience as pathways to subjective happiness remain underexplored. This study examined a sequential mediation model among these variables in Taiwanese university students. The sample comprised 524 undergraduates (228 males, 296 females; M = 21.06) from 64 universities across Taiwan. Data were collected via an online survey in September 2023 using validated scales, including the Coping Humor Scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. Analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS 27.0 and SmartPLS 4.0, applying descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, t-tests, ANOVA, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results confirmed that self-esteem and resilience significantly mediate the relationship between coping humor and subjective happiness, validating the proposed model. Additionally, adaptive humor styles, such as affiliative and self-enhancing humor, significantly predict self-esteem and well-being, mediating the link between self-esteem and happiness. Psychological well-being, subjective happiness, and positive humor styles were positively correlated, reinforcing humor's role in fostering happiness. These findings highlight the potential of enhancing coping humor, resilience, and self-esteem to promote well-being in educational settings. The study also provides theoretical and practical implications, as well as research limitations and future directions.
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issn 0001-6918
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spelling doaj-art-2bbee87e4da94843a214a1d6e890798b2025-08-20T03:10:25ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-05-0125510487910.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104879Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university studentsChin-Wen Liao0Chih-Yu Ting1Yao-Chung Cheng2Kai-Jie Chen3An-Sheng Liu4Tzu-Ju Hsueh5Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, No.2, Shi-Da Road, Changhua City 50074, Taiwan (R.O.C)Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, No.2, Shi-Da Road, Changhua City 50074, Taiwan (R.O.C)Center for Teacher Education, National Changhua University of Education, No.1, Jin-De Road, Changhua City 50007, Taiwan (R.O.C); Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Changhua University of Education, No.2, Shi-Da Road, Changhua City 50074, Taiwan (R.O.C); Corresponding author at: Center for Teacher Education, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Road, Changhua City 50007, Taiwan (R.O.C).Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, No.2, Shi-Da Road, Changhua City 50074, Taiwan (R.O.C)Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, No.2, Shi-Da Road, Changhua City 50074, Taiwan (R.O.C)Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, No.2, Shi-Da Road, Changhua City 50074, Taiwan (R.O.C)Amidst growing scholarly interest in the integrative effects of psychological traits on well-being, the roles of coping humor, self-esteem, and resilience as pathways to subjective happiness remain underexplored. This study examined a sequential mediation model among these variables in Taiwanese university students. The sample comprised 524 undergraduates (228 males, 296 females; M = 21.06) from 64 universities across Taiwan. Data were collected via an online survey in September 2023 using validated scales, including the Coping Humor Scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. Analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS 27.0 and SmartPLS 4.0, applying descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, t-tests, ANOVA, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results confirmed that self-esteem and resilience significantly mediate the relationship between coping humor and subjective happiness, validating the proposed model. Additionally, adaptive humor styles, such as affiliative and self-enhancing humor, significantly predict self-esteem and well-being, mediating the link between self-esteem and happiness. Psychological well-being, subjective happiness, and positive humor styles were positively correlated, reinforcing humor's role in fostering happiness. These findings highlight the potential of enhancing coping humor, resilience, and self-esteem to promote well-being in educational settings. The study also provides theoretical and practical implications, as well as research limitations and future directions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825001921Coping humorSelf-esteemResilienceSubjective happiness
spellingShingle Chin-Wen Liao
Chih-Yu Ting
Yao-Chung Cheng
Kai-Jie Chen
An-Sheng Liu
Tzu-Ju Hsueh
Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university students
Acta Psychologica
Coping humor
Self-esteem
Resilience
Subjective happiness
title Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university students
title_full Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university students
title_fullStr Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university students
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university students
title_short Exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor, self-esteem, resilience, and subjective well-being among Taiwanese university students
title_sort exploring the sequential mediation model of coping humor self esteem resilience and subjective well being among taiwanese university students
topic Coping humor
Self-esteem
Resilience
Subjective happiness
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825001921
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