Title: Emotional support and satisfaction with university campus life: mediation of self-efficacy and problem-solving

Authors: Muhammad Shakil Ahmad; Malik Aizaz Ahmad; Islam Elgammal

Addresses: Faculty of Business, Sohar University, Al-Batinah, 311, Sohar, Oman; Teesside International Business School, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK ' SZBIST, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan ' College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract: Drawing on social support theory, we examined the primary types of emotional support among university students and their impact on their satisfaction with campus life. We examined the mediating roles of self-efficacy and problem-solving capacity between two types of emotional support and satisfaction with campus life. This study implemented a cross-sectional survey design. Using a convenience sampling technique, data was collected from 582 university students. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using Smart PLS was used for data analysis. The study results show that students' satisfaction with campus life is impacted by both parents and teachers' emotional support in direct and indirect ways. The indirect impact of emotional support on satisfaction is via the mediating effect of self-esteem and problem-solving. Self-efficacy does not mediate the relationship between a teacher's emotional support and student satisfaction with campus life. Additionally, the study tested the causality relationship amid self-efficacy and problem-solving capacity as mediators. The existence of a mediation effect on self-esteem and problem-solving has provided insights which add new knowledge to the extant literature in higher education institutions (HEIs) on enhancing emotional support among students.

Keywords: emotional support; satisfaction; self-efficacy; problem-solving; students; campus life satisfaction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEM.2026.151937

International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, 2026 Vol.17 No.1, pp.81 - 101

Received: 31 Mar 2023
Accepted: 08 Oct 2023
Published online: 27 Feb 2026 *

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