Abstract: Objective To understand the relationship between self-esteem,interpersonal trust,and subjective well-being of college students,and to test the mediating role of interpersonal trust between self-esteem and subjective well-being. Methods In December 2022,a questionnaire survey was conducted on 440 college students from four universities in Henan,Shaanxi,Hainan and Liaoning provinces using the subjective well-being scale,self-esteem scale and interpersonal trust scale,and the data were analyzed. Results The subjective well-being score of college students was（21.08±7.01）points,which belongs to the average level,while self-esteem[（26.67±4.20） points] and interpersonal trust[（83.18±16.35）points] were both above the average level. There were statistically significant differences in the scores of subjective well-being among college students of different genders,grades,places of origin and whether they were only children（all P<0.05）. There were statistically significant differences in interpersonal trust scores among college students of different grades,places of origin,whether they were class cadres,and whether they were only children（all P<0.01）. There were also statistically significant differences in self-esteem scores among college students of different places of origin（P<0.05）. There were significant positive correlations among self-esteem,interpersonal trust,life satisfaction,positive emotion and subjective well-being（r=0.23-0.97,all P<0.01）,while negative emotions were significantly negatively correlated with life satisfaction,self-esteem,and subjective well-being（r=-0.20,-0.36,-0.37,all P<0.01）. Interpersonal trust partially mediated the relationship between self-esteem and subjective well-being（β=0.45,P<0.01）,with an effect value of 0.14,accounting for 20.5% of the total effect. Conclusion Self esteem positively predicts subjective well-being,and interpersonal trust plays a partial mediating role between self esteem and subjective well-being.

Key words: Self-esteem, Interpersonal trust, Subjective well-being