Linking collective self-esteem to well-being indicators of arts therapies students and practitioners: Meaning and engagement as mediators

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between collective self-esteem (CSE), job satisfaction (professional outcome), and subjective well-being (personal outcome) in Israeli creative arts therapies students as compared to practitioners (N=233). Based on self-enhancement theory and conservation of resources theory, the roles of work engagement and meaningful work as two parallel mediators in these relationships were also examined. Analysis of intergroup differences indicated that students scored higher than practitioners on CSE, whereas practitioners scored higher than students on all other variables. The results portrayed a complex picture. For students, only work engagement, but not meaningful work, mediated the relationship between CSE and job satisfaction; there was no spillover effect on students’ personal subjective well-being. For practitioners, both work engagement and meaningful work mediated the relationship between CSE and job satisfaction; there was a spillover effect such that professional variables affected practitioners’ personal subjective well-being. Implications for research and practice are discussed.