Subjective well-being is reciprocally associated with academic engagement: A two-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that subjective well-being promotes a wide range of adaptive psychological outcomes. However, the role of subjective well-being in the school context, as a potential facilitator of key academic outcomes, remains underexplored. The primary objective of this study was to examine the extent to which the different dimensions of subjective well-being—life satisfaction, positive affect, and (low levels of) negative affect—were associated with academic engagement through a two-wave longitudinal study. Three hundred and eighty-nine Filipino high school students participated in this research project. Cross-lagged analysis revealed that Time 1 life satisfaction positively predicted Time 2 academic engagement, and that Time 1 negative affect negatively predicted Time 2 academic engagement, even after controlling for autoregressor effects. We also found evidence of reciprocal effects with prior academic engagement predicting subsequent well-being. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.