Perceived Poverty and Life Satisfaction in College Students with Impoverished Backgrounds: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

Abstract

Background

Perceived poverty is a common psychological feeling among college students with impoverished backgrounds. Perceived poverty can harm impoverished college students’ interpersonal interactions, psychological health and life satisfaction. This study explored the effect of perceived poverty on the life satisfaction of impoverished college students and the mediating role of self-esteem.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 1044 impoverished college students from 22 universities completed an online questionnaire that included a measure of perceived poverty, self-esteem scale (SES) and satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). Mplus statistical software was used to test whether self-esteem mediates the relationship between perceived poverty and life satisfaction.

Results

Perceived poverty and life satisfaction were significantly negatively correlated, self-esteem was significantly positively correlated with life satisfaction, and perceived poverty was significantly negatively correlated with self-esteem. The structural equation model revealed that self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between perceived poverty and life satisfaction.

Conclusion

Financial aid programmes should safeguard and strengthen impoverished students’ self-esteem while also taking steps to lessen their perceived poverty.

Keywords:

• college financial aid system
• relative poverty
• low-income families
• mental health

Acknowledgments

We thank the Jiangsu Tao Shing Pee Education Foundation for allowing this project to collect data from impoverished college students.

Author Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this study work.