Feeling seen matters: How organization-based self-esteem mediates the relationship between university students' coping resources and thriving in Germany, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates

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  • Tarumanagara University
  • American University in Dubai
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
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Translated title of the contributionFeeling seen matters: How organization-based self-esteem mediates the relationship between university students' coping resources and thriving in Germany, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates
Original languageEnglish
Article number1527121
JournalFrontiers in Psychology
Volume16
Publication statusPublished - 10 Sept 2025

Abstract

Introduction: While there is substantial evidence on the negative repercussions of study-related stressors on university students’ mental health and well-being, comparably less is known about a specific adaptive response to stressors in higher education: students’ thriving, that is, the experience of vitality and learning under challenging circumstances. Given the lack of comparative research on students’ adaptive outcomes in diverse cultural contexts, we examined coping resources (i.e., academic self-efficacy, ASE; social belonging, SB) as predictors of female and male students’ thriving in an individualistic culture (i.e., Germany, n = 259), and compared it to two collectivistic cultures (i.e., Indonesia, n = 839; United Arab Emirates, UAE, n = 230). We further investigated the role of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a potential mediator between students’ coping resources and thriving.

Methods and Results: Multiple-group moderated mediation analyses showed that OBSE served as a mediator between SB and thriving in all three countries, irrespective of students’ gender. ASE directly catalyzed thriving among female and male students in Indonesia, only among female students in the UAE, but not in Germany. SB directly contributed to female and male students’ thriving in Germany and Indonesia.

Discussion: Our findings point to the universal decisive role of OBSE in enabling students in different cultures to transform coping resources into experiences of thriving when facing study-related stressors.

Keywords

    thriving, higher education, coping resources, academic self-efficacy, social belonging, organization-based self-esteem, gender, academic self-efficacy (ASE), organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), social belonging (SB)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

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Feeling seen matters: How organization-based self-esteem mediates the relationship between university students' coping resources and thriving in Germany, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. / Haase, Jannika; Rahiem, Maila; Hashmi, Madiha et al.
In: Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 16, 1527121, 10.09.2025.

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title = "Feeling seen matters: How organization-based self-esteem mediates the relationship between university students' coping resources and thriving in Germany, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates",
abstract = "Introduction: While there is substantial evidence on the negative repercussions of study-related stressors on university students{\textquoteright} mental health and well-being, comparably less is known about a specific adaptive response to stressors in higher education: students{\textquoteright} thriving, that is, the experience of vitality and learning under challenging circumstances. Given the lack of comparative research on students{\textquoteright} adaptive outcomes in diverse cultural contexts, we examined coping resources (i.e., academic self-efficacy, ASE; social belonging, SB) as predictors of female and male students{\textquoteright} thriving in an individualistic culture (i.e., Germany, n = 259), and compared it to two collectivistic cultures (i.e., Indonesia, n = 839; United Arab Emirates, UAE, n = 230). We further investigated the role of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a potential mediator between students{\textquoteright} coping resources and thriving.Methods and Results: Multiple-group moderated mediation analyses showed that OBSE served as a mediator between SB and thriving in all three countries, irrespective of students{\textquoteright} gender. ASE directly catalyzed thriving among female and male students in Indonesia, only among female students in the UAE, but not in Germany. SB directly contributed to female and male students{\textquoteright} thriving in Germany and Indonesia.Discussion: Our findings point to the universal decisive role of OBSE in enabling students in different cultures to transform coping resources into experiences of thriving when facing study-related stressors.",
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author = "Jannika Haase and Maila Rahiem and Madiha Hashmi and Heejung Kim and Lysann Zander",
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T2 - How organization-based self-esteem mediates the relationship between university students' coping resources and thriving in Germany, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates

AU - Haase, Jannika

AU - Rahiem, Maila

AU - Hashmi, Madiha

AU - Kim, Heejung

AU - Zander, Lysann

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2025 Haase, Rahiem, Hashmi, Kim and Zander.

PY - 2025/9/10

Y1 - 2025/9/10

N2 - Introduction: While there is substantial evidence on the negative repercussions of study-related stressors on university students’ mental health and well-being, comparably less is known about a specific adaptive response to stressors in higher education: students’ thriving, that is, the experience of vitality and learning under challenging circumstances. Given the lack of comparative research on students’ adaptive outcomes in diverse cultural contexts, we examined coping resources (i.e., academic self-efficacy, ASE; social belonging, SB) as predictors of female and male students’ thriving in an individualistic culture (i.e., Germany, n = 259), and compared it to two collectivistic cultures (i.e., Indonesia, n = 839; United Arab Emirates, UAE, n = 230). We further investigated the role of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a potential mediator between students’ coping resources and thriving.Methods and Results: Multiple-group moderated mediation analyses showed that OBSE served as a mediator between SB and thriving in all three countries, irrespective of students’ gender. ASE directly catalyzed thriving among female and male students in Indonesia, only among female students in the UAE, but not in Germany. SB directly contributed to female and male students’ thriving in Germany and Indonesia.Discussion: Our findings point to the universal decisive role of OBSE in enabling students in different cultures to transform coping resources into experiences of thriving when facing study-related stressors.

AB - Introduction: While there is substantial evidence on the negative repercussions of study-related stressors on university students’ mental health and well-being, comparably less is known about a specific adaptive response to stressors in higher education: students’ thriving, that is, the experience of vitality and learning under challenging circumstances. Given the lack of comparative research on students’ adaptive outcomes in diverse cultural contexts, we examined coping resources (i.e., academic self-efficacy, ASE; social belonging, SB) as predictors of female and male students’ thriving in an individualistic culture (i.e., Germany, n = 259), and compared it to two collectivistic cultures (i.e., Indonesia, n = 839; United Arab Emirates, UAE, n = 230). We further investigated the role of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a potential mediator between students’ coping resources and thriving.Methods and Results: Multiple-group moderated mediation analyses showed that OBSE served as a mediator between SB and thriving in all three countries, irrespective of students’ gender. ASE directly catalyzed thriving among female and male students in Indonesia, only among female students in the UAE, but not in Germany. SB directly contributed to female and male students’ thriving in Germany and Indonesia.Discussion: Our findings point to the universal decisive role of OBSE in enabling students in different cultures to transform coping resources into experiences of thriving when facing study-related stressors.

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