{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T06:06:16Z","timestamp":1784700376494,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784678400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In the post-pandemic era, the world has witnessed profound transformations with economic, social, and lifestyle changes. In such a special period, Generation Z is also undergoing unique trials. While confronting multifaceted and complex challenges, they also have positive adaptations, including improved psychological capital (PSY) and core self-evaluations (CSE). As the life and academic satisfaction for Generation Z have become an increasingly critical issue for higher education, we wanted to seek new insight into the reasons which influence the life and academic satisfaction for Generation Z. Previous studies have suggested that both CSE and PSY were separately positive predictors of young people\u2019s sense of happiness. However, the indirect relationship between CSE and Generation Z\u2019s satisfaction via PSY has rarely been researched.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Based on positive psychology, social cognition theory, and social comparison theory, we develop a double moderated-mediation model and empirically tested our hypotheses using questionnaires from 753 Chinese college students, representing the Chinese youth. We further investigated PSY as a mediator and social comparison as well as socioeconomic status as double moderators in the relationships between CSE and Generation Z\u2019s satisfaction.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our study indicated that low social comparison and high socioeconomic status could strengthen the positive effect of CSE on Generation Z\u2019s satisfaction in daily life. Especially, CSE and PSY play essential roles in students\u2019 mental state.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The in-depth exploration of the complex relationships among these factors will help schools and families develop more effective strategies to improve the satisfaction and mental health of Generation Z in the long run.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1665300","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T05:51:54Z","timestamp":1784699514000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Core self-evaluations, psychological capital, social comparison, and socioeconomic status: an analysis of Generation Z\u2019s satisfaction in the post-pandemic era"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xin","family":"Yan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Finance and Accounting, Fuzhou University of International Studies and Trade","place":["Fuzhou, Fujian, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu-Shan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Business Administration, National Taipei University","place":["Taipei, Taiwan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu-Ning","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Environment, Tsinghua University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1186\/s40561-022-00197-8","article-title":"University students\u2019 satisfaction and future outlook towards forced remote learning during a global pandemic","volume":"9","author":"Abdullah","year":"2022","journal-title":"Smart Learn. 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