Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis of Psychological Empowerment and Life Satisfaction

This study examined the longitudinal relationship between psychological empowerment (PE) and satisfaction with life (SWL) using a two-wave cross-lagged panel model. Data were collected from 204 Japanese undergraduate students at a six-week interval. Results showed that PE at Time 1 significantly predicted SWL at Time 2, even after controlling for baseline SWL. In contrast, SWL at Time 1 did not predict subsequent PE. The significant cross-lagged effect from PE to SWL suggested that empowerment contributed to positive change in students’ life satisfaction. At the same time, the autoregressive paths in the model confirmed that both constructs were reasonably stable over time. Together, these findings indicate that PE functions as a predictor of life satisfaction rather than a mere correlate. By providing longitudinal evidence, this study extends prior cross-sectional research and supports that empowerment is better understood as an active developmental process rather than a passive consequence of well-being.