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

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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.

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Notes

  1. Although this private institution does not offer formal degrees, students are free to follow a variety of courses in subjects such as music, psychology, foreign languages and so forth.

  2. We actually tested the more comprehensive model, but it failed to reach convergence due to high number of parameters to be estimated; this problem is more likely to arise when many general and specific factors are used as predictors (Chen et al. 2012).

  3. We applied a correction factor to the omega formula for correlated scale component errors (see Raykov 2012).

  4. Chen et al. (2013) found a similar pattern for negative affect in a bifactor model of subjective well-being.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Lucrezia Bottiglieri, Federica Maria Gioia, Claudia Pucci for their essential contribution in data collection and for their active participation in the coding phase of this study. We are grateful to Federico Brugnoni, Valentina Cafaro, Erika Graci, Sara Pompili, and Maria Chiara Sabatino for their precious collaboration in data collection, and to Antonio Krase for English reviewing. We also thank Dr. Francesco Florenzano and Upter’s staff to allow and facilitate the data collection.

Authors’ contributions

Marco Lauriola and Luca Iani equally contributed to the conception, design, analyses, and interpretation of data, and to the writing of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, SAPIENZA University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Marco Lauriola

  2. Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, Via degli Aldobrandeschi 190, 00163, Rome, Italy

    Luca Iani

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  1. Marco Lauriola
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Correspondence to Marco Lauriola or Luca Iani.

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Lauriola, M., Iani, L. Personality, Positivity and Happiness: A Mediation Analysis Using a Bifactor Model. J Happiness Stud 18, 1659–1682 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9792-3

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