Adolescence is the developmental process of becoming an adult. This journey of physical and psychological maturation is filled with challenges and hormonal chaos, and teenagers experience unhappiness at times. From a psychological perspective, this study aimed to examine the association between motivation, self-esteem and happiness; and to explore the mediating role of motivation in the association between self-esteem and happiness among adolescents in Malaysia. 480 secondary school students were recruited using a multistage cluster sampling method and answered the Malay versions of the Subjective Happiness, Brief Motivation and Rosenberg Self-esteem scales. Both self-esteem and motivation were found positively correlated to happiness. The hypothetical mediating role of motivation on the association between self-esteem and happiness was also supported, indicating that individuals with higher self-esteem have higher motivation which may result in greater happiness. Since the direct association between self-esteem and happiness remained significant, a partial mediation of adolescents’ motivation between self-esteem and happiness is indicated. The results showed that perceived self-esteem plays a role in predicting happiness and the presence of motivation enhances happiness, providing an insight to nurture happier adolescents for parents and educators in Malaysia.

青春期是成为成年人的发展过程。这段身心成熟的旅程充满挑战和荷尔蒙混乱，青少年有时会感到不快乐。从心理学的角度来看，本研究旨在检验动机、自尊和幸福之间的关系；并探讨动机在马来西亚青少年自尊与幸福之间的关系中的中介作用。使用多阶段整群抽样方法招募了 480 名中学生，并回答了马来语版本的主观幸福、短暂动机和罗森伯格自尊量表。发现自尊和动机都与幸福感呈正相关。动机在自尊和幸福之间的关联中的假设中介作用也得到了支持，这表明自尊越高的人有更高的动机，可能会带来更大的幸福。由于自尊与幸福之间的直接关联仍然显着，因此表明青少年的自尊和幸福之间的动机存在部分中介作用。结果表明，感知自尊在预测幸福感中发挥作用，而动机的存在会增强幸福感，为马来西亚的父母和教育工作者培养更幸福的青少年提供了洞察力。表明青少年动机在自尊和幸福之间存在部分中介作用。结果表明，感知自尊在预测幸福感中发挥作用，而动机的存在会增强幸福感，为马来西亚的父母和教育工作者培养更幸福的青少年提供了洞察力。表明青少年动机在自尊和幸福之间存在部分中介作用。结果表明，感知自尊在预测幸福感中发挥作用，而动机的存在会增强幸福感，为马来西亚的父母和教育工作者培养更幸福的青少年提供了洞察力。