How helping my nation protects my well-being: National identity as a predictor of well-being and the mediating role of volunteering behavior among the youth in the post-pandemic

• Main Author: Caseres, Gissel A
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: National characteristics; Young volunteers; Voluntarism; Well-being; Distress (Psychology); Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_psych/71; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_psych/article/1070/viewcontent/2024_Caseres_How_helping_my_nation_protects_my_well_being_Full_text.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The post-pandemic society poses challenges on the mental health of the youth on one hand, but also gave rise to tendencies to seek identification with distal social groups such as the nation and higher incidence of youth volunteering, with these expected to have positive influences on the youth’s psychological functioning. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether national identity positively predicts subjective well-being and negatively predicts psychological distress, and if volunteering behavior mediates these hypothesized relationships. A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational research was conducted to test the hypotheses. A total of 202 Filipino active youth volunteers was recruited and participated in an online survey. The analysis of the results suggests novel findings that higher sense of oneness with being a Filipino predicts higher sense of life satisfaction and positive affect (subjective well-being), and higher sense of meaning in life (eudaimonic well-being), as partially mediated by volunteering behaviors among the youth. In contrast, national identity does not significantly predict psychological distress. The results show significance of national identity in specific pathway towards improved well-being of the youth. The study further reveals the significance of identification with distal social groups and engaging in volunteering acts as vital coping resources in times of stress. Important implications on the literature on social identity, youth well-being, and Filipino psychology were discussed. Application on practice of clinical psychology were further identified.