Testing a model of subjective well-being: The roles of optimism, psychological vulnerability, and shyness

Abstract

This research extended current positive psychological research by investigating the mediating effect of shyness on the association between optimism, psychological vulnerability and subjective well-being. Two hundred fifty-five volunteer university students (131 females and 124 males, mean age = 23.14) participated in the study. The structural equation modeling revealed shyness fully mediated the effect of psychological vulnerability on subjective well-being, while shyness partially mediated the effect of optimism on subjective well-being. Also, bootstrapping procedures confirmed that psychological vulnerability was indirectly associated with subjective well-being through shyness, whereas optimism was directly associated with subjective well-being. The implications for future studies and the limitations of the study were discussed in the context of the relevant literature.

Self-reported health-related experiences, psychological capital, and psychological wellbeing in Lithuanian adults sample

“…As many researchers focus on health-related interventions (Baldwin et al, 2017;Fredrickson, 2000;Gick, 2011;Hilton and Johnston, 2017;Lai and Ma, 2016;Lennefer ., 2019;Luthans et al, 2006;Ryff et al, 2015;Sibulwa et al, 2019), we hope that our study at least humbly contributed to the understanding of the association between the number of diseases, psychological capital, and psychological wellbeing, and this might have an added value for health intervention planning. We hope that this research provided some empirical evidence to implement health-related PsyCap or similar interventions on a large scale as strong self-efficacy, hope and resilience proved to be beneficial for the health of people of different ages (Fredrickson, 2000;Luthans et al, 2006;Marsh et al, 2019;Ueno et al, 2020;Van Dick et al, 2017;Varas et al, 2019).…”

Associations of Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Empathy with Psychological Health in Healthcare Volunteers

“…This study aimed to test whether self-efficacy and optimism were associated with psychological and subjective well-being among volunteer clown doctors since they were found to be related to other populations’ psychological health [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. This study also aimed to test whether empathy explained an incremental variability of psychological health, over and above self-efficacy and optimism since it is a crucial dimension in the decision to volunteer [ 6 , 46 ].…”

“…Optimism was a significant predictor of volunteerism, which positively influenced life satisfaction and psychological well-being [ 39 ]. A recent study found a direct positive effect of optimism on subjective well-being [ 40 ]. A meta-analysis found that optimism had moderated to strong associations with the three aspects of subjective well-being: it was associated positively with positive affect and satisfaction with life and negatively with negative affect [ 41 ].…”

Empathy Adds Incrementally to the Association of Self-Efficacy and Optimism with Psychological Health in Healthcare Volunteers

“…The level of optimism was a significant predictor of volunteerism, which in turn affected life satisfaction and psychological well-being [48]. A meta-analysis found that optimism had moderate to large associations with the three aspects of subjective well-being of positive affect, negative affect, and satisfaction with life [25], and a more recent study found a direct effect of optimism on subjective well-being [49].…”