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, w...
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2025-05-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
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| author | María Teresa Dobles Villegas Hugo Sanchez-Sanchez Konstanze Schoeps Inmaculada Montoya-Castilla |
| author_facet | María Teresa Dobles Villegas Hugo Sanchez-Sanchez Konstanze Schoeps Inmaculada Montoya-Castilla |
| author_sort | María Teresa Dobles Villegas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 (<i>M</i> = 21.31, <i>SD</i> = 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-80fae616ae904944a64d4a710eb983ed |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2174-8144 2254-9625 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-80fae616ae904944a64d4a710eb983ed2025-08-20T03:47:52ZengMDPI AGEuropean Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education2174-81442254-96252025-05-011558910.3390/ejihpe15050089Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and ResilienceMaría Teresa Dobles Villegas0Hugo Sanchez-Sanchez1Konstanze Schoeps2Inmaculada Montoya-Castilla3Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez 21, 46010 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez 21, 46010 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez 21, 46010 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez 21, 46010 Valencia, SpainThere 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 (<i>M</i> = 21.31, <i>SD</i> = 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/15/5/89psychological well-beingemotional competenciesself-esteemresilienceemerging adulthoodvulnerable population |
| spellingShingle | María Teresa Dobles Villegas Hugo Sanchez-Sanchez Konstanze Schoeps Inmaculada Montoya-Castilla Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Resilience European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education psychological well-being emotional competencies self-esteem resilience emerging adulthood vulnerable population |
| title | Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Resilience |
| title_full | Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Resilience |
| title_fullStr | Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Resilience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Resilience |
| title_short | Emotional Competencies and Psychological Well-Being in Costa Rican Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Resilience |
| title_sort | emotional competencies and psychological well being in costa rican emerging adults the mediating role of self esteem and resilience |
| topic | psychological well-being emotional competencies self-esteem resilience emerging adulthood vulnerable population |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/15/5/89 |
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