The effect of Psychological Capital on reducing Self-Handicapping by enhancing self-esteem among Jordanian university students

Abstract

Abstract: Within the context of educational settings, the ability of PsyCap to adjust self-esteem and minimize self-handicapping behaviors needs to be further investigated, despite the fact that its benefits have already been shown. The study involved 456 stratified-selected students from five colleges in 2023–2024. PsyCap evaluation data was collected using the CPC-12R, 25-item Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS), and 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Using SMARTPLS4 and PLS-SEM, the study found strong links between PsyCap, self-esteem, and self-handicapping. PSYCap found a correlation of 0.69 with self-esteem and a correlation of -0.23 with self-handicapping. Self-handicapping was lowered when one had high self-esteem. Higher levels of self-esteem (-0.48) served as a mediator for the indirect impact that PsyCap had on self-handicapping, which means that enhancing PsyCap may indirectly lessen instances of self-handicapping by increasing levels of self-esteem. the results also demonstrate that positive psychological resources have the potential to greatly foster academic and personal development in students.