Skip to main content

Prosocial Behavior and Subjective Well-Being in School among Elementary School Students: the Mediating Roles of the Satisfaction of Relatedness Needs at School and Self-Esteem

Applied Research in Quality of Life volume 16, pages 1439–1459 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

We examined the multiple mediating effects of the satisfaction of relatedness needs at school and self-esteem in the relation between prosocial behavior and subjective well-being (SWB) in school among elementary school students employing a four-wave longitudinal design with six-month time intervals. At the baseline assessment, 1058 Chinese elementary school students (575 males; Mage = 9.44) completed a multi-measure questionnaire. A total of 776 students participated in the study on all four occasions. Results of structural equation modeling showed that: (a) Prosocial behavior at Time 1 positively predicted SWB in school at Time 4. (b) The satisfaction of relatedness needs at school at Time 2 mediated the path from prosocial behavior at Time 1 to SWB in school at Time 4; the mediating effect of self-esteem at Time 3 between prosocial behavior at Time 1 and SWB in school at Time 4 was not significant. (c) Prosocial behavior at Time 1 showed indirect effects on SWB in school at Time 4 successively via the satisfaction of relatedness needs at school at Time 2 and self-esteem at Time 3. Limitations of the study and implication of the results were discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Notes

  1. The information about quality of students, school size, class size and the quality of students was provided by the local educational department. The quality of students was assessed according to the students’ academic achievement and family socioeconomic status.

  2. School size was assessed by the number of students in school.

  3. Class size was assessed by the number of students in class.

  4. Teachers’ teaching ability was generally assessed by their educational levels and their years of experience in teaching.

References

  • Aknin, L. B., Dunn, E. W., Sandstrom, G. M., & Norton, M. I. (2013). Does social connection turn good deeds into good feelings? On the value of putting the ‘social’ in prosocial spending. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 1(2), 155–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aknin, L. B., Broesch, T., Hamlin, J. K., & Van de Vondervoort, J. W. (2015). Prosocial behavior leads to happiness in a small-scale rural society. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(4), 788–795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alden, L. E., & Trew, J. L. (2013). If it makes you happy: Engaging in kind acts increases positive affect in socially anxious individuals. Emotion, 13(1), 64–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aronson, E., Bridgeman, D. L., & Geffner, R. (1978). Interdependent interactions and prosocial behavior. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 12(1), 16–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battistich, V., Schaps, E., Watson, M., Solomon, D., & Lewis, C. (2000). Effects of the child development project on students’ drug use and other problem behaviors. Journal of Primary Prevention, 21(1), 75–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, J. A., & Inderbitzen, H. M. (1995). Peer acceptance and friendship: An investigation of their relation to self-esteem. Journal of Early Adolescence, 15(4), 476–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K. A. (1989). A new incremental fit index for general structural equation models. Sociological Methods & Research, 17(3), 303–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bücker, S., Nuraydin, S., Simonsmeier, B. A., Schneider, M., & Luhmann, M. (2018). Subjective well-being and academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Personality, 74, 83–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caprara, G. V., & Steca, P. (2005). Self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of prosocial behavior conducive to life satisfaction across ages. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(2), 191–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caputi, M., Lecce, S., Pagnin, A., & Banerjee, R. (2012). Longitudinal effects of theory of mind on later peer relations: The role of prosocial behavior. Developmental Psychology, 48(1), 257–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, H., & Furnham, A. (2003). Personality, self-esteem, and demographic predictions of happiness and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 34(6), 921–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, M. W. L. (2007). Comparison of approaches to constructing confidence intervals for mediating effects using structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(2), 227–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortes-Garcia, L., Wichstrøm, L., Viddal, K. R., & Senra, C. (2019). Prospective bidirectional associations between attachment and depressive symptoms from middle childhood to adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(11), 2099–2113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, P. J., West, S. G., & Finch, J. F. (1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1(1), 16–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danielsen, A. G., Samdal, O., Hetland, J., & Wold, B. (2009). School-related social support and students’ perceived life satisfaction. The Journal of Educational Research, 102(4), 303–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31(2), 103–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Smith, H., & Fujita, F. (1995). The personality structure of affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(1), 130–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, K. C., & Pianta, R. C. (2010). Banking time in head start: Early efficacy of an intervention designed to promote supportive teacher–child relationships. Early Education & Development, 21, 38–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N. (1986). Altruistic emotion, cognition and behavior. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., & Mussen, P. H. (1989). The roots of prosocial behavior in children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Eryilmaz, A. (2012). A model for subjective well-being in adolescence: Need satisfaction and reasons for living. Social Indicators Research, 107(3), 561–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, L. (2009). Development of primary school upper grade students’ prosocial behaviors questionnaire in Inner Mongolia and the relationship with their self-esteem (Master’s thesis). Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang, China.

  • Fligstein, N. (2001). Social skill and the theory of fields. Sociological Theory, 19(2), 105–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, F. J., Reagans, R. E., Amanatullah, E. T., & Ames, D. R. (2006). Helping one’s way to the top: Self-monitors achieve status by helping others and knowing who helps whom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(6), 1123–1137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, M. S., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2007). Required sample size to detect the mediated effect. Psychological Science, 18(3), 233–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, X., Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Brown, M. N. (2017). Longitudinal relations between adolescents' self-esteem and prosocial behavior toward strangers, friends and family. Journal of Adolescence, 57, 90–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, A. M., & Gino, F. (2010). A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 946–955.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greener, S., & Crick, N. R. (1999). Normative beliefs about prosocial behavior in middle childhood: What does it mean to be nice? Social Development, 8(3), 349–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruman, D. H., Harachi, T. W., Abbott, R. D., Catalano, R. F., & Fleming, C. B. (2008). Longitudinal effects of student mobility on three dimensions of elementary school engagement. Child Development, 79(6), 1833–1852.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gülay, H. (2011). Assessment of the prosocial behaviors of young children with regard to social development, social skills, parental acceptance-rejection and peer relationships. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 38(3), 164–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S., & Gilman, R. (2006). Students who like and dislike school. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 1(2), 139–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin, S. (2015). The social psychological essence of happiness and self-value orientation mechanism. Social Sciences in Heilongjiang, 3, 87–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaye-Tzadok, A., Sun, S. K., & Main, G. (2017). Children's subjective well-being in relation to gender-what can we learn from dissatisfied children? Children and Youth Services Review, 80, 96–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, R. B. (2015). Sense of relatedness boosts engagement, achievement, and well-being: A latent growth model study. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 42, 26–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kong, F., Zhao, J., & You, X. (2013). Self-esteem as mediator and moderator of the relationship between social support and subjective well-being among Chinese university students. Social Indicators Research, 112(1), 151–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kou, Y., & Wang, L. (2003). A review of children’ prosocial behavior and intervention. Psychological Development and Education, 19(4), 86–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lau, R. S., & Cheung, G. W. (2012). Estimating and comparing specific mediation effects in complex latent variable models. Organizational Research Methods, 15(1), 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). The nature and function of self-esteem: Sociometer theory. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 32, 1–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Zou, H., Wang, R., & Dou, D. (2008). The developmental characteristics of temporary migrant children’s self-esteem and its relation to learning behavior and teacher-student relationship in Beijing. Psychological Science, 31(4), 909–913.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lingren, H. G. (1991). Self-esteem in children. Children and Family, 12, 1–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, R. J. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83(404), 1198–1202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, R. J., & Rubin, D. B. (2002). Statistical analysis with missing data (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., & Widaman, K. F. (2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 9(2), 151–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, R. D., Shen, C. X., Xu, L., & Gao, Q. (2013). Children’s internet information seeking, life satisfaction, and loneliness: The mediating and moderating role of self-esteem. Computers & Education, 68, 21–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, W., Tian, L., Huebner, E. S., Zheng, X., & Li, Z. (2015). Preliminary development of the elementary school students’ subjective well-being in school scale. Social Indicators Research, 120(3), 917–937.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, W., Mei, J., Tian, L., & Huebner, E. S. (2016). Age and gender differences in the relation between school-related social support and subjective well-being in school among students. Social Indicators Research, 125(3), 1065–1083.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mabekoje, S. O., & Okubanjo, O. O. (2009). Psychological needs satisfaction and adolescent students’ self-esteem. African Journal of Research in Personnel and Counseling Psychology, 1, 74–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahatmya, D., Lohman, B. J., Matjasko, J. L., & Farb, A. F. (2012). Engagement across developmental periods. In Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 45-63). Springer US.

  • Malecki, C. K., & Demaray, M. K. (2003). What type of support do they need? Investigating student adjustment as related to emotional, informational, appraisal, and instrumental support. School Psychology Quarterly, 18(3), 231–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Hau, K.-T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(3), 320–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martela, F., & Ryan, R. M. (2016). The benefits of benevolence: Basic psychological needs, beneficence, and the enhancement of well-being. Journal of Personality, 84(6), 750–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meier, S., & Stutzer, A. (2008). Is volunteering rewarding in itself? Economica, 75(297), 39–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. M., Ginsburg, H. J., & Rogow, S. G. (1981). Self-esteem and sharing in fourth-grade children. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 9(2), 211–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S., Connolly, P., & Maguire, L. K. (2013). Well-being, academic buoyancy and educational achievement in primary school students. International Journal of Educational Research, 62, 239–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B., & Kaplan, D. (1985). A comparison of some methodologies for the factor analysis of nonnormal Likert variables. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 38(2), 171–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B., & Kaplan, D. (1992). A comparison of some methodologies for the factor analysis of non-normal Likert variables: A note on the size of the model. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 45(1), 19–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2017). PISA 2015 results (volume III): Students’ well-being. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Omoto, A. M., & Snyder, M. (1995). Sustained helping without obligation: Motivation, longevity of service, and perceived attitude change among AIDS volunteers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(4), 671–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penner, L. A., Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., & Schroeder, D. A. (2005). Prosocial behavior: Multilevel perspectives. Annual Review of Psychology, 56(1), 365–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piliavin, J. A., & Siegl, E. (2007). Health benefits of volunteering in the Wisconsin longitudinal study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 48(4), 450–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reeve, J., Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., & Jang, H. (2008). Understanding and promoting autonomous self-regulation: A self-determination theory perspective. In D. Schunk & B. Zimmerman (Eds.), Motivation and self-regulated learning: Theory, research, and application (pp. 223–244). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rueger, S. Y., Malecki, C. K., & Demaray, M. K. (2010). Relationship between multiple sources of perceived social support and psychological and academic adjustment in early adolescence: Comparisons across gender. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(1), 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarason, S. B. (1997). Foreword. In R. Weissberg, T. P. Gullotta, R. L. Hampton, B. A. Ryan, & G. R. Adams (Eds.), Enhancing children’s wellness (Vol. 8, pp. 9–11). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack, U., & Diener, E. (2003). Predictive validity of explicit and implicit self-esteem for subjective well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(2), 100–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. H., & Howard, J. A. (1982). Helping and cooperation: A self-based motivational model. In V. J. Derlega & J. Grzelak (Eds.), Cooperation and helping behavior: Theories and research (pp. 327–353). New York: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Suldo, S. M., Gormley, M. J., Dupaul, G. J., & Anderson-Butcher, D. (2014). The impact of school mental health on student and school-level academic outcomes: Current status of the research and future directions. School Mental Health, 6(2), 84–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, H. (2013). Primary school upper grade students’ self-esteem and its intervention (Master’s thesis). Liaoning Normal University, Liaoning, China.

  • Tian, L. (2006). Shortcoming and merits of Chinese version of Rosenberg (1965) self-esteem scale. Psychological Exploration, 26(2), 88–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L. (2008). Developing scale for school well-being in adolescents. Psychological Development and Education, 24(3), 100–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Liu, B., Huang, S., & Huebner, E. S. (2013). Perceived social support and school well-being among Chinese early and middle adolescents: The mediational role of self-esteem. Social Indicators Research, 113(3), 991–1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Chen, H., & Huebner, E. S. (2014a). The longitudinal relationships between basic psychological needs satisfaction at school and school-related subjective well-being in adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 119(1), 353–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Han, M., & Huebner, E. S. (2014b). Preliminary development of the adolescent students’ basic psychological needs at school scale. Journal of Adolescence, 37(3), 257–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Du, M., & Huebner, E. S. (2015a). The effect of gratitude on elementary school students’ subjective well-being in schools: The mediating role of prosocial behavior. Social Indicators Research, 122(3), 887–904.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Wang, D., & Huebner, E. S. (2015b). Development and validation of the brief adolescents’ subjective well-being in school scale (BASWBSS). Social Indicators Research, 120(2), 615–634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Chu, S., & Huebner, E. S. (2016a). The chain of relationships among gratitude, prosocial behavior and elementary school students’ school satisfaction: The role of school affect. Child Indicators Research, 9(2), 515–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Pi, L., Huebner, E. S., & Du, M. (2016b). Gratitude and adolescents’ subjective well-being in school: The multiple mediating roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction at school. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(11), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Tian, Q., & Huebner, E. S. (2016c). School-related social support and adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being: The mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction at school. Social Indicators Research, 128(1), 105–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Zhang, L., Huebner, E. S., Zheng, X., & Liu, W. (2016d). The longitudinal relationship between school belonging and subjective well-being in school among elementary school students. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 11(4), 1269–1285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, L., Zhang, X., & Huebner, E. S. (2018). The effects of satisfaction of basic psychological needs at school on children's prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior: The mediating role of school satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2001). Age and birth cohort differences in self-esteem: A cross-temporal meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(5), 321–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ümmet, D. (2015). Self-esteem among college students: A study of satisfaction of basic psychological needs and some variables. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 1623–1629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Véronneau, M. H., Koestner, R. F., & Abela, J. R. (2005). Intrinsic need satisfaction and well-being in children and adolescents: An application of the self–determination theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(2), 280–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang W. (2009). The relationship among Social behavior of pupils, teacher-pupil relationship and the degree of acceptance by their companions (Master’s thesis). Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.

  • Wang, Y. Z. (2011). Handbook of evaluating the effectiveness of psychological scale (pp. 586–590). Zhengzhou: Zheng Zhou University Pressed.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Wang, X., & Ma, H. (1999). Mental health assessment scale (revised edition) (pp. 318–320). Beijing: Chinese Mental Health Magazine Press.

  • Weinstein, N., & Ryan, R. M. (2010). When helping helps: Autonomous motivation for prosocial behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(2), 222–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen, Z., & Ye, B. (2014). Analyses of mediating effects: The development of methods and models. Advances in Psychological Science, 22(5), 731–745.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, W., Wu, M., & Qiu, F. (2005). A research on the relationship between self-esteem and subjective well-being. Psychological Science, 28(3), 562–565.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Q., Tian, L., Huebner, E. S., & Zhu, X. (2018a). Relations among academic achievement, self-esteem, and subjective well-being in school among elementary school students: A longitudinal mediation model. School Psychology Quarterly, 34, 328–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Y., Li, W., Sheldon, K. M., & Kou, Y. (2018b). Chinese adolescents with higher social dominance orientation are less prosocial and less happy: A value-environment fit analysis. International Journal of Psychology, 5, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, X., Huebner, E. S., & Tian, L. (2019). A person-centered longitudinal analysis of adolescents’ loneliness and social anxiety: Clusters, predictors, and outcomes. School Psychology, 34(5), 576–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuffianò, A., Alessandri, G., Kanacri, B. P. L., Pastorelli, C., Milioni, M., Ceravolo, R., et al. (2014). The relation between prosociality and self-esteem from middle-adolescence to young adulthood. Personality and Individual Differences, 63, 24–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by Humanities Social Sciences Research Planning Foundation from Ministry of Education, 2015 (No. 15YJA190003), and “13th Five-Year” Plan of Philosophy and Social Science Development in Guangzhou, 2018 (No. 2018GZGJ22).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Philosophy and Social Development, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People’s Republic of China

    Wang Liu

  2. School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People’s Republic of China

    Tian Su & Lili Tian

  3. Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People’s Republic of China

    Tian Su & Lili Tian

  4. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People’s Republic of China

    Tian Su & Lili Tian

  5. Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    E. Scott Huebner

Authors
  1. Wang Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tian Su
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lili Tian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. E. Scott Huebner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tian Su.

Ethics declarations

This study (Prosocial Behavior and Subjective Well-Being in School among Elementary School Students: The Mediating Roles of the Satisfaction of Relatedness Needs at School and Self-Esteem) was approved by the Human Research Committee of South China Normal University.

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, W., Su, T., Tian, L. et al. Prosocial Behavior and Subjective Well-Being in School among Elementary School Students: the Mediating Roles of the Satisfaction of Relatedness Needs at School and Self-Esteem. Applied Research Quality Life 16, 1439–1459 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-020-09826-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-020-09826-1

Keywords

  • Prosocial behavior
  • Subjective well-being in school
  • Satisfaction of relatedness needs at school
  • Self-esteem
  • Elementary school students