Perception of kindness at university relates to emotion regulation and well-being outcomes among Chinese early childhood pre-service teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Xunyi LIN, Jesus Alfonso Daep DATU

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

Abstract

There is growing attention about the psychological rewards associated with kind school climates in primary and secondary school settings. Its mental health benefits, however, remain under-explored in higher education contexts. This study addresses this gap through examining the role of university kindness or perception of kind acts in university settings in emotion regulation, life satisfaction, psychological flourishing, and coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) anxiety among 915 Chinese early childhood pre-service teachers using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. Results demonstrated that university kindness was related to increased life satisfaction and psychological flourishing as well as reduced COVID-19 anxiety. Bias-corrected bootstrapping analysis showed that university kindness had indirect effects on life satisfaction and psychological flourishing via cognitive reappraisal. This research underscores the mental health advantages associated with promoting kindness-oriented climates in university contexts. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)812-825
JournalJournal of Education for Teaching
Volume49
Issue number5
Early online date02 Dec 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Citation

Lin, X., & Datu, J. A. D. (2023). Perception of kindness at university relates to emotion regulation and well-being outcomes among Chinese early childhood pre-service teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Education for Teaching, 49(5), 812-825. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2022.2152654

Keywords

  • COVID anxiety
  • University kindness
  • Well-being

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