Exploring Emotional Self-Efficacy as a Mediator of Positive Leisure Experience and Subjective Well-Being Among Elementary School-Age Children in a Marginalized Community

Abstract

Background: Prior research has established a positive relationship between emotional self-efficacy and life satisfaction in elementary school-age children. However, less is known about the direct impact of positive leisure experience on subjective well-being and the potential mediating role of emotional self-efficacy. Objectives: This study examined whether emotional self-efficacy mediates the association between overall leisure enjoyment and life satisfaction among elementary schoolchildren. It was hypothesized that both direct and indirect effects are statistically significant. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional design was used with 100 fifth- and sixth-grade students from a U.S.-Mexico border community. Participants completed the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE), the emotional subscale of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C), and the Student Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS). Mediation analysis was conducted in R with bootstrapping (500 simulations). Results: Overall leisure enjoyment was positively associated with life satisfaction (β = 0.54, 95% CI [0.23, 0.90], p = 0.004). The direct effect remained significant after accounting for emotional self-efficacy (β = 0.41, 95% CI [0.15, 0.73], p = 0.004). The indirect effect through emotional self-efficacy was also significant (β = 0.13, 95% CI [0.03, 0.29], p = 0.016), accounting for approximately 25% of the total effect. Conclusions: Emotional self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between overall leisure enjoyment and life satisfaction, suggesting that positive leisure experience enhances children's emotional coping confidence and subjective well-being. These findings underscore the importance of promoting accessible and enjoyable leisure opportunities within marginalized communities that simultaneously foster children's emotional self-efficacy and well-being.

Keywords: emotional self-efficacy; leisure enjoyment; life satisfaction.

Figure 1

Final Mediation Analysis Model of Three Variables. * p < 0.05.