Self-esteem, social comparison, and interpersonal communication competence as predictors of students’ psychological well-being
Ismailova A. Naubayeva K. Zheldibayeva R. Kontrimienė S.
2025Frontiers Media SA
Frontiers in Education
2025#10
Background: The extent to which students’ psychological well-being is determined by their communication in society and self-appraisal, including comparisons to other individuals, has not been previously examined within a single model. Motivated by this literature gap, the present study sought to test a hypothetical model embodying self-esteem and perceived interpersonal communication competence as direct regressors of self-reported psychological well-being, with social comparison inclination reciprocally linked to the criterion. Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative correlational design was implemented. Four well-recognized questionnaires were administered via an anonymous online survey to students across various undergraduate programs at a public university. The survey responses from 348 students aged 18.8 years on average (55.2% females) were subjected to a multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The results supported the proposed conceptual framework: both perceived communication competence and self-esteem positively predicted students’ mental well-being. Conversely, higher self-reported social comparison intensity was associated with reduced psychological well-being. All paths were statistically discernible. Conclusion: This investigation represents the first attempt to assess the relationship between one’s subjective communication competence and mental well-being per se, rather than its sub-components. The findings highlight that contemporary students, navigating a world of constant digital and face-to-face interactions, risk harming their mental well-being when their personal standards are strongly influenced by peers. Copyright
linear regression , mental well-being , resilience , self-evaluation , undergraduate students
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, Zhetysu University, Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan
Institute of Foreign Languages, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
Department of Pedagogy and Psychology
Institute of Foreign Languages
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026