Positive Emotions, Hope, and Life Satisfaction in Chinese College Students: How Useful is the Broaden-and-Build Model in Studying Well-being in Victims of Intimate Partner Violence?

Abstract

In recent works, Chang and colleagues have shown that hope partially mediates the association between positive emotions and life satisfaction in diverse adult groups. However, such a model has yet to be tested among adult victims of intimate partner violence. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to evaluate the broaden-and-build model of positive emotions involving hope agency and pathways as predictors of life satisfaction in a sample of Chinese college students (N = 248; 152 females and 96 males) who self-reported experiencing intimate partner violence. Participants completed measures assessing prior exposure to intimate partner violence, positive emotions, hope, and life satisfaction. A multiple mediation model with 10,000 bootstraps was evaluated in which hope agency and pathways were examined as hypothesized mediators of the positive association found between positive emotions and life satisfaction in Chinese adult victims of intimate partner violence. Results of this analysis indicated that although positive emotions continued to have a significant direct association with life satisfaction, both hope agency and pathways were found to partially mediate this association. We discussed the importance of these initial findings in relation to positive emotions and hope as predictors of life satisfaction in victims of intimate partner violence.