Association of the Meta-Emotion Structure with the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood Identity Mediated by Mental Health in University Students

Background: Meta-emotion is a crucial developmental task to maintain internal balance, provide compatible relations, and improve mental health. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the association of the meta-emotion structure with the dimensions of emerging adulthood identity mediated by mental health in university students. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on male and female university students aged 18 - 25 years who were selected from the public universities of Tehran, Iran during 2020 - 2021. The research sample consisted of 178 participants selected via convenience, quota, and nonrandom sampling. Data were collected using Arnett’s inventory of the dimensions of emerging adulthood (IDEA), Goldberg’s general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), and Mitmansgruber’s Meta-Emotion scale (MES). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling in the SmartPLS-3 software. Results: The meta-emotion structure had a significant negative association with possibilities/optimism (r = -0.14) and significant positive associations with the components of feeling in-between, identity explorations, self-focus, and possibilities/optimism. Mental health had a negative association with possibilities/optimism (r = -0.17) and positive associations with the other four identity dimensions. In terms of the direct influence coefficients, the meta-emotion structure had a direct and significant influence only on mental health (r = 0.68). Furthermore, mental health had a direct effect only on instability/negativity. Among the identity dimensions of emerging adulthood, mental health had a mediating role only for instability/negativity (β = 0.21; t = 3.23). Conclusions: According to the results and considering the structure of meta-emotion and mental health as an influential factor in characteristics such as instability/negativity among identity dimensions, emphasizing mental health as a mediating factor for the association between meta-emotion and components such as instability/negativity could help acquire a better understanding of the association between these variables.