IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v119y2020ics0190740920320788.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Subjective well-being and moral disengagement in Chinese youths: The mediating role of malicious envy and the moderating role of Honesty–Humility

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Huanhuan
  • Zhang, Heyun
  • He, Wen
  • Chen, Ning

Abstract

Little research has explored the influence of subjective well-being on moral disengagement in youths, and the potential mechanisms that underlie this relationship remain largely unknown. This study established a moderated mediation model in which malicious envy mediates the relationship between subjective well-being and moral disengagement, and Honesty–Humility moderates this mediated relationship. Four hundred and eighty-five Chinese youths completed anonymous measures regarding subjective well-being, moral disengagement, malicious envy, and Honesty–Humility. Results indicated that subjective well-being is negatively associated with moral disengagement and that malicious envy partially mediates this association. Moderated mediation analysis further revealed that Honesty–Humility moderates the first and second stages of the indirect association between subjective well-being and moral disengagement via malicious envy, with the association is much more potent for youths with low levels of Honesty–Humility. The findings of this study not only highlight the significance of subjective well-being in dampening moral disengagement but also identify the psychological mechanisms of how and when subjective well-being exerts an influence on moral disengagement. The implications for enhancing subjective well-being and alleviating the moral disengagement of youths were discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Huanhuan & Zhang, Heyun & He, Wen & Chen, Ning, 2020. "Subjective well-being and moral disengagement in Chinese youths: The mediating role of malicious envy and the moderating role of Honesty–Humility," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:119:y:2020:i:c:s0190740920320788
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105655
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740920320788
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105655?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jacky C. K. Ng & Victor C. Y. Lau & Sylvia Xiahua Chen, 2020. "Why are Dispositional Enviers not Satisfied With Their Lives? An Investigation of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Pathways Among Adolescents and Young Adults," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 525-545, February.
    2. Silke Boenigk & Marcel Lee Mayr, 2016. "The Happiness of Giving: Evidence from the German Socioeconomic Panel That Happier People Are More Generous," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1825-1846, October.
    3. Walid Briki, 2019. "Harmed Trait Self-Control: Why Do People with a Higher Dispositional Malicious Envy Experience Lower Subjective Wellbeing? A Cross-Sectional Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 523-540, February.
    4. Roberta Fida & Marinella Paciello & Carlo Tramontano & Reid Fontaine & Claudio Barbaranelli & Maria Farnese, 2015. "An Integrative Approach to Understanding Counterproductive Work Behavior: The Roles of Stressors, Negative Emotions, and Moral Disengagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 131-144, August.
    5. De Clercq, Dirk & Haq, Inam Ul & Azeem, Muhammad Umer, 2018. "The roles of informational unfairness and political climate in the relationship between dispositional envy and job performance in Pakistani organizations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 117-126.
    6. Long Wang & J. Murnighan, 2014. "Money, Emotions, and Ethics Across Individuals and Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 163-176, November.
    7. Ed Diener & Shigehiro Oishi & Louis Tay, 2018. "Advances in subjective well-being research," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(4), pages 253-260, April.
    8. Wen-wen Zheng & Li Liu & Zhen-wei Huang & Xu-yun Tan, 2017. "Life Satisfaction as a Buffer of the Relationship Between Corruption Perception and Political Participation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 907-923, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia & de Plaza, Maria Alejandra Pinero & Taghian, Mehdi, 2020. "The effect of benign and malicious envies on desire to buy luxury fashion items," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    2. Aline Lopes Moreira & Jorge Castellá Sarriera & Leonardo Fernandes Martins & Lívia Maria Bedin & Maria Angela Mattar Yunes & Luciana Cassarino Perez & Murilo Ricardo Zibetti, 2022. "Psychometric Properties of Children’s Subjective Well-Being Scales: a Multigroup Study Investigating School Type, Gender, Age and Region of Children in the South and Southeast Regions of Brazil," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(2), pages 657-679, April.
    3. Ihsana Sabriani Borualogo & Ferran Casas, 2023. "Bullying Victimisation and Children’s Subjective Well-being: A Comparative Study in Seven Asian Countries," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 1-27, February.
    4. Jason Wei Jian Ng & Santha Vaithilingam & Grace H. Y. Lee & Gary J. Rangel, 2022. "Life Satisfaction and Incumbent Voting: Examining the Mediating Effect of Trust in Government," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 2947-2967, August.
    5. Jacky C. K. Ng & Joanne Y. H. Chong & Hilary K. Y. Ng, 2023. "The way I see the world, the way I envy others: a person-centered investigation of worldviews and the malicious and benign forms of envy among adolescents and adults," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Mehwish Iftikhar & Muhammad Imran Qureshi & Shazia Qayyum & Iram Fatima & Sriyanto Sriyanto & Yasinta Indrianti & Aqeel Khan & Leo-Paul Dana, 2021. "Impact of Multifaceted Workplace Bullying on the Relationships between Technology Usage, Organisational Climate and Employee Physical and Emotional Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Aline Riboli Marasca & Maurício Scopel Hoffmann & Anelise Reis Gaya & Denise Ruschel Bandeira, 2021. "Subjective Well-Being and Psychopathology Symptoms: Mental Health Profiles and their Relations with Academic Achievement in Brazilian Children," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(3), pages 1121-1137, June.
    8. Federico Contu & Daniela Di Santo & Conrad Baldner & Antonio Pierro, 2023. "Examining the Interaction between Perceived Cultural Tightness and Prevention Regulatory Focus on Life Satisfaction in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-10, January.
    9. Li, JiaYu & Du, Qian & Gao, Xuemei, 2020. "Adolescent aggression and violent video games: The role of moral disengagement and parental rearing patterns," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Jeremy D. Mackey & Charn P. McAllister & Katherine C. Alexander, 2021. "Insubordination: Validation of a Measure and an Examination of Insubordinate Responses to Unethical Supervisory Treatment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(4), pages 755-775, February.
    11. Mamatzakis, Emmanuel C. & Tsionas, Mike G., 2021. "Making inference of British household's happiness efficiency: A Bayesian latent model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 294(1), pages 312-326.
    12. Ekaterina Oparina & Sorawoot Srisuma, 2022. "Analyzing Subjective Well-Being Data with Misclassification," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 730-743, April.
    13. Xiangdan Piao & Xinxin Ma & Tetsuya Tsurumi & Shunsuke Managi, 2022. "Social Capital, Negative Event, Life Satisfaction and Sustainable Community: Evidence from 37 Countries," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1311-1330, June.
    14. Fei Yiwen & Juhee Hahn, 2021. "Job Insecurity in the COVID-19 Pandemic on Counterproductive Work Behavior of Millennials: A Time-Lagged Mediated and Moderated Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-17, August.
    15. Jacky C. K. Ng & Victor C. Y. Lau & Sylvia Xiahua Chen, 2020. "Why are Dispositional Enviers not Satisfied With Their Lives? An Investigation of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Pathways Among Adolescents and Young Adults," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 525-545, February.
    16. Martin Korndörfer & Boris Egloff & Stefan C. Schmukle, 2015. "A Large Scale Test of the Effect of Social Class on Prosocial Behavior," Working Papers 1601, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    17. Daniela Raccanello & Giada Vicentini & Elena Trifiletti & Roberto Burro, 2020. "A Rasch Analysis of the School-Related Well-Being (SRW) Scale: Measuring Well-Being in the Transition from Primary to Secondary School," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-17, December.
    18. Nona C. Kiknadze & Blaine J. Fowers, 2023. "Cultural Variation in Flourishing," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2223-2244, October.
    19. Jacky C. K. Ng & Algae K. Y. Au & Helen S. M. Wong & Carmen K. M. Sum & Victor C. Y. Lau, 2021. "Does Dispositional Envy Make You Flourish More (or Less) in Life? An Examination of Its Longitudinal Impact and Mediating Mechanisms Among Adolescents and Young Adults," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1089-1117, March.
    20. Nicholas Burton & Mai Chi Vu, 2021. "Moral Identity and the Quaker tradition: Moral Dissonance Negotiation in the WorkPlace," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 127-141, November.

    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:eee:cysrev:v:119:y:2020:i:c:s0190740920320788. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    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.