Can Flow Alleviate Anxiety? The Roles of Academic Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem in Building Psychological Sustainability and Resilience

Yanhui Mao, Rui Yang, Marino Bonaiuto, Jianhong Ma and László Harmat
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Yanhui Mao: School of Economics and Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Rui Yang: Psychological Research and Counseling Center, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Marino Bonaiuto: Dipartimento di Psicologia dei Processi di Sviluppo e Socializzazione, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma 00185, Italy
Jianhong Ma: Department of Psychology and Behavior Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China
László Harmat: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Psychology, Linnaeus University, Växjö 35195, Sweden

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: A growing number of studies suggest that flow experience is associated with life satisfaction, eudaimonic well-being, and the perceived strength of one’s social and place identity. However, little research has placed emphasis on flow and its relations with negative experiences such as anxiety. The current study investigated the relations between flow and anxiety by considering the roles of self-esteem and academic self-efficacy. The study sample included 590 Chinese university students, who were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire on flow, anxiety, self-esteem, and academic self-efficacy. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS software, in which both factorial analysis and path analysis were performed. Results revealed that the experience of flow negatively predicted anxiety, and both self-esteem and academic self-efficacy fully mediated the path between flow and anxiety. Specifically, self-esteem played a crucial and complete mediating role in this relationship, while academic self-efficacy mediated the path between self-esteem and anxiety. Our findings enrich the literature on flow experience and help with identifying practical considerations for buffering anxiety and more broadly with fostering strategies for promoting psychological sustainability and resilience.

Keywords: flow; anxiety; academic self-efficacy; self-esteem; psychological sustainability; resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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