engleski

Personality traits and social desirability as predictors of subjective well-being

Understanding subjective well-being (SWB) has always been a fundamental human concern. SWB represents people's evaluations of their lives which includes life satisfaction, positive affect and a low level of negative affect. These three components form a global factor of interrelated variables. Theory and previous research indicate that personality traits are one of the best predictors and that social desirability is associated with SWB. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between personality traits, social desirability and subjective well-being (SWB). A total of 392 Croatian students completed the Satisfaction With Life Scale, PANAS, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and IPIP50. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed with personality traits and social desirability as predictors and SWB including satisfaction with life, positive affects and negative affects as dependent variables. Results from regression analyses confirmed previous findings that personality, specifically Extraversion, Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness represent strong predictors of SWB. Unlike other studies, Intellect significantly predicted positive affect and Agreeableness showed an additional significant prediction of negative affect that could be due to social awards. Social desirability, when entered independently in the analysis, was found to be a significant predictor of all three SWB components. In combination with personality traits, social desirability only showed association with negative affect which can be explained by the links between social desirability and personality. These findings indicate that social desirability is an inseparable part of well-being and that it should be interpreted as a substantive personality characteristic which enhances SWB.

subjective well-being; life satisfaction; positive and negative affects; Big Five model of personality; social desirability

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