Do life goals mediate the link between personality traits and mental well-being?
Journal Title: The Journal of Happiness and Well-Being - Year 2016, Vol 4, Issue 1
Abstract
The present study examined, first, the connections between life goals and different dimensions of mental well-being, and, second, life goals as mediators in the previously established relation between personality traits and mental wellbeing. The data were drawn from 42- and 50-year-old participants (n = 242) in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. Regression analysis revealed that, in women, leisure-related goals (including items on hobbies, relationships and sexuality) were positively linked to emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. In men, performance-related goals (mental performance, family’s welfare, work and economic welfare) positively predicted psychological and social well-being, and leisure-related goals social well-being. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that, in women, leisure-related goals were a partial mediator in the links from neuroticism and extraversion to emotional well-being: low neuroticism and high extraversion were positively associated with leisure-related goals, which in turn were positively related to emotional well-being. In men, performance-related goals were a partial mediator between extraversion and psychological well-being: extraversion was positively linked to performance-related goals, which was further positively related to psychological wellbeing. In conclusion, the present results indicate, first, that life goals are linked to different dimensions of mental well-being; second, that life goals partially mediate the associations between personality traits and mental wellbeing; and, third, that some gender differences exist in the relations between personality traits, life goals, and mental well-being.
Authors and Affiliations
Merja Hietalahti| University of Jyvaskyla Department of Psychology, Finland. E-mail: merja.a.hietalahti@jyu.fi, Johanna Rantanen| University of Jyvaskyla Department of Teacher Education, Finland, Katja Kokko| University of Jyvaskyla Gerontology Research Center and Department of Health Sciences, Finland
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP15947
- DOI -
- Views 394
- Downloads 18
The psychometric properties of the Turkish Form of the Positivity Scale
This paper describes the reliability and validity results of Positivity Scale, developed by Caprara et al. (2012), in Turkish sample. Within the scope of the current study, the language equivalence was examined and it...
Pozitif psikolojinin psikolojik danışmanlık ve rehberlik alanında gelişimsel ve önleyici hizmetler bağlamında kullanılması
While development of positive psychology goes forward, it provides substantial contribution many scientific disciplines. Psychological counseling is also example of these disciplines. In this study, the constructs of p...
Adaptation of the Brief Resilience Scale into Turkish: A validity and reliability study
The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), was developed to measure the level of individual resilience. The aim of this paper is to adapt a Turkish version of BRS and examine its psychometric properties. A total of 295 (186 wom...
The effect of emotional awareness education, based on emotion focused therapy, on young adults’ levels of optimism
The aim of this research was to study the effects of an Emotional Awareness Training Programme, based on Emotion-Focused Therapy, on the optimism levels of young adults. The experimental and control groups of this rese...
Turkish version of the New Sexual Satisfaction Scale : A validity and reliability study
The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of Turkish form of the New Sexual Satisfaction Scale (NSSS) that was developed by Å tulhofera et al. (2010). The study was conducted on 200 male and 2...