IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v18y2017i6d10.1007_s10902-016-9792-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Personality, Positivity and Happiness: A Mediation Analysis Using a Bifactor Model

Author

Listed:
  • Marco Lauriola

    (SAPIENZA University of Rome)

  • Luca Iani

    (European University of Rome)

Abstract

Recent studies suggested an important role of neuroticism and extraversion facets as incremental predictors of subjective well-being outcomes. Research has shown that positive cognitions mediated the relation between personality traits and well-being. The present study examined the relationship between neuroticism and extraversion, measured as general and group factors, and subjective happiness through a general positivity factor. 770 community participants (69.4 % females; M = 55.34; SD = 16.01) completed personality, satisfaction with life, optimism, self-esteem, and subjective happiness scales. A bifactor model was used to parse general and specific variance components for multifaceted constructs. The general positivity factor completely mediated neuroticism-subjective happiness relationships and overlapped with general neuroticism, whilst it partially mediated extraversion-subjective happiness ones. Other paths to happiness involved cheerfulness and enthusiasm. Assertiveness, activity level and excitement-seeking had a weak relationship with subjective happiness and only through positivity. Gregariousness and friendliness had neither direct nor indirect effects on subjective happiness. Life satisfaction had a twofold role as a component of positivity as well as providing an independent contribution to variance in subjective happiness. In keeping with previous research, neuroticism acted as a sort of general negativity factor. Cheerfulness and extraversion made an incremental contribution to variance in subjective happiness. Our findings support the utility of a multifaceted approach to study pathways from personality to well-being. Theoretical and practical implications for promoting well-being were discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Lauriola & Luca Iani, 2017. "Personality, Positivity and Happiness: A Mediation Analysis Using a Bifactor Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1659-1682, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:18:y:2017:i:6:d:10.1007_s10902-016-9792-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-016-9792-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-016-9792-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-016-9792-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marco Lauriola & Luca Iani, 2015. "Does Positivity Mediate the Relation of Extraversion and Neuroticism with Subjective Happiness?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Jeromy Anglim & Sharon Grant, 2016. "Predicting Psychological and Subjective Well-Being from Personality: Incremental Prediction from 30 Facets Over the Big 5," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 59-80, February.
    3. Chris Tkach & Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2006. "How Do People Pursue Happiness?: Relating Personality, Happiness-Increasing Strategies, and Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 183-225, June.
    4. Rebecca Warner & Kerryellen Vroman, 2011. "Happiness Inducing Behaviors in Everyday Life: An Empirical Assessment of “The How of Happiness”," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(6), pages 1063-1082, December.
    5. Luca Iani & Marco Lauriola & Kristin Layous & Saulo Sirigatti, 2014. "Happiness in Italy: Translation, Factorial Structure and Norming of the Subjective Happiness Scale in a Large Community Sample," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 953-967, September.
    6. Fang Chen & Yiming Jing & Adele Hayes & Jeong Lee, 2013. "Two Concepts or Two Approaches? A Bifactor Analysis of Psychological and Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 1033-1068, June.
    7. Owen Lightsey & George Gharibian Gharghani & Aron Katz & Valerie McKinney & Eli Rarey, 2013. "Positive Automatic Cognitions Mediate the Relationship Between Personality and Trait Positive Affect," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 115-134, March.
    8. Isabel Albuquerque & Margarida Lima & Marcela Matos & Cláudia Figueiredo, 2012. "Personality and Subjective Well-Being: What Hides Behind Global Analyses?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 105(3), pages 447-460, February.
    9. Rebecca R. Andridge & Roderick J. A. Little, 2010. "A Review of Hot Deck Imputation for Survey Non‐response," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 78(1), pages 40-64, April.
    10. Sonja Lyubomirsky & Heidi Lepper, 1999. "A Measure of Subjective Happiness: Preliminary Reliability and Construct Validation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 137-155, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Don C. Zhang & Tyler L. Renshaw, 2020. "Personality and College Student Subjective Wellbeing: A Domain-Specific Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 997-1014, March.
    2. Angelo Panno, 2018. "Social Dominance and Attitude towards Immigrants: The Key Role of Happiness," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-10, August.
    3. Rosario J. Marrero & Mónica Carballeira & Juan A. Hernández-Cabrera, 2020. "Does Humor Mediate the Relationship Between Positive Personality and Well-Being? The Moderating Role of Gender and Health," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1117-1144, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hirose, Junichi & Kotani, Koji & Managi, Shunsuke, 2023. "Do autonomy and inquisitiveness contribute to SDGs? Implications from the matrilineal island of Palau," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 303-318.
    2. Junichi Hirose & Koji Kotani & Shunsuke Managi, 2023. "How do autonomy and inquisitiveness play roles in sustainable development? Implications from matrilineal Island Palau," Working Papers SDES-2023-1, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Feb 2023.
    3. Paola Manfredi, 2022. "Is This All COVID-19′s Fault? A Study on Trainees in One of the Most Affected Italian Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-18, October.
    4. Bedriye Alıcı & Gürcan Seçim, 2020. "The Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the Riverside Life Satisfaction Scale–Adult Form," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, December.
    5. Mark Holder & Ben Coleman & Kamlesh Singh, 2012. "Temperament and Happiness in Children in India," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 261-274, April.
    6. Badri Bajaj & Ragini Gupta & Santoshi Sengupta, 2019. "Emotional Stability and Self-Esteem as Mediators Between Mindfulness and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(7), pages 2211-2226, October.
    7. Želinský, Tomáš & Soroková, Tatiana & Petríková, Daniela, 2018. "Economic Characteristics and Subjective Well-Being," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 50(3), pages 334-364.
    8. Esther I. Bruin & Dominik S. Sieh & Bonne J. H. Zijlstra & Anne-Marie Meijer, 2018. "Chronic Childhood Stress: Psychometric Properties of the Chronic Stress Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (CSQ-CA) in Three Independent Samples," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(4), pages 1389-1406, August.
    9. Albert Feliu-Soler & Javier de Diego-Adeliño & Juan V. Luciano & Ioseba Iraurgi & Carlo Alemany & Dolors Puigdemont & Víctor Pérez & Maria J. Portella & Joan Trujols, 2021. "Unhappy While Depressed: Examining the Dimensionality, Reliability and Validity of the Subjective Happiness Scale in a Spanish Sample of Patients with Depressive Disorders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-13, October.
    10. Benjamin Caunt & John Franklin & Nina Brodaty & Henry Brodaty, 2013. "Exploring the Causes of Subjective Well-Being: A Content Analysis of Peoples’ Recipes for Long-Term Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 475-499, April.
    11. Mark Holder & Andrea Klassen, 2010. "Temperament and Happiness in Children," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 419-439, August.
    12. Serdar Karabati & Nurcan Ensari & Dary Fiorentino, 2019. "Job Satisfaction, Rumination, and Subjective Well-Being: A Moderated Mediational Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 251-268, January.
    13. Rebecca M. Warner & Kala Frye & Jesse Stabile Morrell & Gale Carey, 2017. "Fruit and Vegetable Intake Predicts Positive Affect," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 809-826, June.
    14. Hanna Hofmann & Daniel Groß & Carl-Walter Kohlmann, 2022. "On the Role of Mental Health Activities for Teachers’ Work and Life," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(1), pages 205-227, February.
    15. Longobardi, C. & Settanni, M. & Fabris, M.A. & Marengo, D., 2020. "Follow or be followed: Exploring the links between Instagram popularity, social media addiction, cyber victimization, and subjective happiness in Italian adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    16. Valter Afonso Vieira, 2022. "The mediating role of happiness on the effect of locomotion and effort on salesperson’s performance and cross-selling: the case of financial insurance," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(4), pages 346-359, December.
    17. Ana Blasco-Belled & Radosław Rogoza & Cristina Torrelles-Nadal & Carles Alsinet, 2020. "Emotional Intelligence Structure and Its Relationship with Life Satisfaction and Happiness: New Findings from the Bifactor Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 2031-2049, August.
    18. Paola Manfredi, 2022. "Benefits, Risks and Gender Differences in Sport, and Exercise Dependence: Key Role of Alexithymia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, April.
    19. Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012. "Global and School-Related Happiness in Finnish Children," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 601-619, August.
    20. Melikşah Demir & Ömer Şimşek & Amanda Procsal, 2013. "I Am so Happy ‘Cause My Best Friend Makes Me Feel Unique: Friendship, Personal Sense of Uniqueness and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 1201-1224, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:18:y:2017:i:6:d:10.1007_s10902-016-9792-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.