The Influence of Growth Mindset on Elementary School Students' Subjective Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Perceived Teacher Support
Abstract
Elementary school students' subjective well-being has been reported to be declining, raising concerns about their long-term psychological and academic development. Despite growing interest in growth mindset and its benefits, few studies have simultaneously examined academic self-efficacy as a mediator and perceived teacher support as a moderator within a single integrated model for elementary school students. This study aims to examine the role of growth mindset in predicting subjective well-being, with academic self-efficacy as a mediating variable and perceived teacher support as a moderating variable. A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design was employed. Data were collected from 240 elementary school students in West Java, Indonesia, selected through purposive sampling. A self-report questionnaire comprising 38 items across four constructs was administered using a four-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4, applying bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples to assess mediation and moderation effects. The results show that growth mindset significantly and positively predicts subjective well-being (β = 0.361, p < 0.001). Academic self-efficacy partially mediates this relationship (indirect effect = 0.094, 95% CI [0.038, 0.165]), accounting for approximately 26% of the total effect. Perceived teacher support significantly moderates the relationship between growth mindset and academic self-efficacy (β = 0.110, p = .026). In conclusion, subjective well-being in elementary school students is shaped by the interplay of growth mindset, self-efficacy, and teacher support. This study contributes a comprehensive moderated mediation model that bridges individual cognitive beliefs with contextual classroom factors, providing practical guidance for educators and policymakers to design targeted interventions that strengthen students' psychological well-being.