Empathy and life satisfaction among adolescent in Türkiye: examining mediating roles of resilience and self-esteem

Abstract

Background: The relationship between life satisfaction, empathy, resilience, and self-esteem has been investigated to a limited extent in developing countries, despite the existing literature on their effects on youth mental health. This study aimed to analyze the mediating role of resilience and self-esteem in the relationship between empathy and life satisfaction among adolescents in Türkiye. Methods: The study group comprised 292 Turkish youth aged 15–19 (59.25% female and 40.75% male). We adopted Pearson correlation analysis and PROCESS Macro Model 4 in regression analysis to explore the relationships among empathy, life satisfaction, resilience and self-esteem. Results: The results showed that there were significant relationships between the study variables. Also, results show that resilience and self-esteem mediate the relationship between empathy and life satisfaction. Conclusion: These results provide specific theoretical support and guidance for investigating and enhancing life satisfaction among adolescents in Türkiye and highlight the importance of interventions to enhance empathy, increase psychological resilience, and support self-esteem.