The Long-Term Impact of Moral Education on College Students’ Psychological Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study Revealing Multidimensional Synergistic Mechanisms

Moral education significantly impacts the psychological well-being of college students by cultivating moral awareness, social responsibility, and moral values. However, existing studies have mainly focused on its cognitive effects (e.g., value formation and moral judgment development), with less attention to its impact on the affective level (e.g., positive and negative emotions). Longitudinal studies on its long-term effects are also limited. To address this gap, the present study conducted two waves of a longitudinal survey involving 423 Chinese university students. The results showed that baseline moral education levels significantly predicted subsequent psychological well-being, including higher psychological prosperity, more positive emotions, and fewer negative emotions. Additionally, gender moderated the relationship between moral education and psychological well-being: females showed significantly higher levels of well-being than males after receiving moral education. This study provides deeper insights into how moral education affects the psychological well-being of college students and offers theoretical and practical recommendations for enhancing emotion regulation and implementing psychological well-being interventions.