The association between prosocial behavior and subjective well-being among Chinese post-00s youth: the roles of meaning in life and prosocial motivation.

INTRODUCTION: The "Post-00s" generation in China, shaped by rapid social transition, increasingly prioritizes individualistic goals, which often reduces their motivation toward prosocial behavior. This individualistic tendency, however, conflicts with the collectivist cultural expectations in China that strongly endorse prosocial engagement.

METHODS: Therefore, the current study investigated whether more prosocial behavior was associated with subjective well-being (SWB) among a sample of Chinese university students born after 2000 (N = 1,084), specifically examining the parallel mediating roles of the search for meaning and the presence of meaning, as well as the moderating influence of prosocial motivation.

RESULTS: Results from a moderated parallel mediation model revealed that prosocial behavior was positively associated with SWB through both dimensions of meaning in life. Crucially, the strength of prosocial motivation significantly moderated this indirect pathway. Under high prosocial motivation, the positive associations between prosocial behavior, meaning in life, and SWB were robustly stronger. Conversely, when prosocial motivation was low, the indirect pathway via the search for meaning became non-significant, and the overall positive association with SWB was substantially weakened.

DISCUSSION: This study highlights the importance of integrating motivational strength into prosociality research and offers culturally relevant insights into well-being processes among contemporary Chinese youth.