Political Trust as a Predictor of Democratic Participation: The Mediating Role of Psychological Well-Being among University Students

Abstract

The democratic health and pupils' involvement are positively related. This study attempts to do so by studying the associations among internal psychological resources (psychological well-being), institutional trust, and civic involvement, an empirical gap. Political trust is used as a statistical predictor of democratic participation; psychological well-being among university students is used as a statistical mediator of the link between political trust and democratic participation. A cross sectional survey using convenience sampling (n = 350) of undergraduate and postgraduate students was conducted, which was quantitative in nature. The sample size is statistically sufficient for conducting typical regression and mediation analysis. Participants were chosen to provide diversity in academic subject area, level and gender. Descriptive statistics indicated moderate levels of political trust (M = 3.28, SD = 0.71) and democratic participation (M = 3.19, SD = 0.74). Both participation and political trust were positively correlated (r = .52, p < .01), and political trust was a significant predictor in linear regression (eta = .52, R² = .27, p < .001). A mediation analysis supported partial mediation of this association via psychological well-being (indirect effect = .13, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [.08, .19]). These findings suggest that institutional integrity and psychological capacity are associated with engagement. Civic education should be theoretically integrated with psychological support to potentially foster students' active citizenship at universities.