Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1510543

The Role of Prosocial Tendencies in the Relationships Between Gratitude, Perceived Social Support, and Psychological Well-being Among Chinese University Students: A Structural

Provisionally accepted
Xu Man Xu Man 1*Zhang Jing Zhang Jing 2
  • 1 Department of Basic Medical Science, Jiangsu Vocational College of Medicine, Yancheng, China
  • 2 Baoding Vocational and Technical College, Baoding, Hebei Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study examines the relationships among gratitude, perceived social support, prosocial tendencies, and psychological well-being in 703 Chinese university students. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we investigated whether prosocial tendencies mediate the effects of gratitude and perceived social support on psychological well-being. Data were collected using validated instruments of the constructs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that gratitude and perceived social support significantly predicted psychological well-being, both directly and indirectly through the higher-order factor of prosocial tendencies. Gratitude demonstrated a strong positive effect on prosocial tendencies (β = 0.412, p < .001), which, in turn, significantly contributed to psychological well-being (β = 0.465, p < .001). Similarly, perceived social support had a positive impact on prosocial tendencies (β = 0.375, p < .001) and psychological well-being (β = 0.253, p < .05). Mediation analysis confirmed that prosocial tendencies partially mediated these relationships. Multi-group SEM analysis indicated invariance across gender. The findings highlight the cultural relevance of gratitude and social support within the collectivist context of Chinese society, where social harmony and interdependence are emphasized. Practical implications include integrating gratitude exercises and strengthening peer support networks into university mental health programs to enhance students' well-being and resilience.

    Keywords: Gratitude, perceived social support, Prosocial tendencies, psychological well-being, Structural Equation Modeling, university students, Mediation, Gender invariance

    Received: 13 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Man and Jing. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xu Man, Department of Basic Medical Science, Jiangsu Vocational College of Medicine, Yancheng, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.