IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aac/ijirss/v8y2025i5p1023-1033id8926.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Structural equation modeling of the relationships between positive thinking, self-esteem, and psychological hardiness among university students

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmed Ali Al Awad Asiri
  • Adel Sayed Abbady
  • Ahmed Ali Teleb

Abstract

This study examined the direct and indirect relationships among positive thinking, self-esteem, and psychological hardiness in university students, grounded in positive psychology and hardiness theory. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional design, data were collected from a stratified random sample of 480 students (301 male, 179 female) at King Khalid University through three validated scales. Data analysis via SPSS and AMOS employed structural equation modeling (SEM). The proposed model demonstrated a good fit: χ²/df = 2.95 (<3), RMSEA = 0.0321 (<0.08), and incremental fit indices (NFI = 0.966, CFI = 0.968, RFI = 0.915, IFI = 0.968, TLI = 0.920) all exceeded 0.90, confirming model adequacy. Significant direct effects were found for positive thinking on psychological hardiness (0.62) and self-esteem (0.31), and for self-esteem on psychological hardiness (0.21). Positive thinking and self-esteem also showed a significant bidirectional relationship. Indirect effects emerged through the mediating role of psychological hardiness and its dimensions (sense of duty, self-control, and high self-efficacy). These findings underscore the importance of fostering positive thinking and self-esteem as interrelated psychological resources that directly and indirectly enhance psychological hardiness. Interventions targeting these constructs may enhance students’ resilience, coping capacity, and overall mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed Ali Al Awad Asiri & Adel Sayed Abbady & Ahmed Ali Teleb, 2025. "Structural equation modeling of the relationships between positive thinking, self-esteem, and psychological hardiness among university students," International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, Innovative Research Publishing, vol. 8(5), pages 1023-1033.
    • Handle: RePEc:aac:ijirss:v:8:y:2025:i:5:p:1023-1033:id:8926
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ijirss.com/index.php/ijirss/article/view/8926/2015
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aac:ijirss:v:8:y:2025:i:5:p:1023-1033:id:8926. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Natalie Jean (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ijirss.com/index.php/ijirss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.