University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2006 The Relationship Among Personality Traits, Character Strengths, and Life Satisfaction in College Students Nalini Maria West University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation West, Nalini Maria, "The Relationship Among Personality Traits, Character Strengths, and Life Satisfaction in College Students. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2006. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4271 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Nalini Maria West entitled "The Relationship Among Personality Traits, Character Strengths, and Life Satisfaction in College Students." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Psychology. Jacob Levy, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: John Lounsbury, Sky Huck, Mark A. Hector Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Nalini M. West entitled "The Relationship Among Personality Traits, Character Strengths, and Life Satisfaction in College Students." I have examined the finalpaper copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Psychology. We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Sky Huck Mark A. Hector Accepted for the Council: Graduate Studies THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG PERSONALITY TRAITS, CHARACTER STRENGTHS, AND LIFE SATISFACTION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS A Dissertation Presented forthe Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Nalini Maria West August 2006 11 ABSTRACT Utilizing a sample of college students who completed the Adolescent Personal Style Inventory for College Students {Lounsbury & Gibson, 2004), the VIA Classificationof Strengths(Peter, Park, & Seligman, 2004), and a Quality of LifeScale, specific relations between the Big Five Factor Model personality traits, characterstrengths, and life satisfaction in college students were hypothesized and examined. With theexception of the Big Five trait, Conscientiousness, all of the hypothesized correlations were found to be significantat the .05 level. This study also investigated whether the character strengths model and the Big Five model were significantpredictors of life satisfactionin · college students. Hierarchical regression analysesrevealed that the characterstrengths model added validity above and beyond the Big Five in predicting lifesatisfaction in college students. Results are discussed in teims of implications for clinical aspects ( e.g. treatment modalities) in the fieldof psychology. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 1 Overview 1 The Five Factor Model of Personality 2 Extra version 3 Agreeableness 4 Conscientiousness 4 Neuroticism/Emotional Stability 4 Openness 5 The Big Five Model, Subjective Well-:-Being, and LifeSatisfaction 5 NarrowVersus Broad Debate 8 Positive Psychology 9 Three levels: Subjective, Individual, andGroup 10 Positive Psychology and Personality Traits 11 Pathology Versus Positive Psychological Health 12 Character Strengths 13 Historical Development 14 Character Strengths and Positive Psychology 15 Character Strengths and LifeSatisfaction/Well-Being 16 LifeSatisfaction 19 LifeSatisfaction and Personality/Big Five Factors 20 LifeSatisfaction and Perceived Quality of Life 20 II EXAMINATIONOF PERSONALITY TRAITS, CHARACTER STRENGTHS 22 AND LIFE SATISFACTION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS Objectives 22 Hypotheses 23 Method 24 Participants 24 Measures 25 Procedure 26 III RESULTS 27 Overview 27 Hypothesized Relations Between Study Variables 28 Hypothesis 1 28 Hypothesis 2 28 Hypothesis 3 29 Hypothesis 4 29 Hypothesis 5 29 Hypothesis 6 30 lV IV CONCLUSION 31 Discussion 31 Limitations 34 Implications forFuture Research 36 Summary 38 REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES 51 VITA 69 V LIST OF T ABLES AND CONSTRUCT DEFINITIONS . Table. Page I. CorrelationsBetween CharacterStrengths and LifeSatisfaction (General LifeSatisfaction and Satisfactionwith College) 56 2. Correlations Between Big Five Factors andLife Satisfaction ·(General LifeSatisfactin and Satisfactionwith College) 58 3. Correlations Between Character Strengths and Big Five Factors 59 4. Summaryof Hierarchical Multiple Regression for LifeSatisfaction with Character Strengths Entered BeforeBig Five Factors 61 5. Summaryof Hierarchical Multiple Regressionfor LifeSatisfaction with Big Five Factors Entered Before Character Strengths 62 Construct Definitions *CharacterStrength Constructs 53 *Adolescent Personal Style Inventory Constructs 63 I CHAPTER! INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Overview Within the past decade, researchershave increasingly turned their interest toward examining the relationship between personality variables and subjective well being (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003; Ryan & Deci, 2000). DeNeve and Cooper (1998) conducted a meta-analysis that illuminated the sizeable amount of research conducted on the relationship between these two variables. More specifically, DeN eve and Cooper focused on two dimensions of subjective well being: affective and cognitive. The affectivedimension includes both positive and negative affect, as well as the balance between them. The cognitive dimension of subjective well being particularly refers to lifesatisfaction. Among the plethora of personality models available, the five factors prop.osed by Costa and McCrae (1992) are typically utilized most frequently. There is a broad consensus among researchers that the Big Five model represents a unifiedand parsimonious theoretical framework for personality (Digman, 1990; Digman, 1997; Wiggins & Trapnell, 1997). The individual constructs(i.e., Agreeableness/Teamwork, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability/Neuroticism,Extraversion, and Openness) as well as the overall structure of the model have been supported in a varietyof settings with a wide range of populations (Costa & McCrae, 1992; De Raad, 2000; Digman, 1990). Researchershave also begun to focustheir attention toward positive psychology and its relationship to subjective well being. Central to positive psychology are what are 2 known as characterstrengths (McCullough& Snyder, 2000; Seligman, 2002). Character strengths, or positive traits that individuals reflectthrough feelings, behaviors, and thought, exist in varying degrees(Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004). Although research examiningpositive psychology and subjective well being is s6il somewhat limited, several researchers have been able to ignite increasing interest in this field. For example, Park,Peterson, and Seligmanstudied characterstrengths and aspects of subjective well being, namelylife satisfaction. Through their work, supportfor existing literaturein this field has increased. Both personalityand positive psychology seem to be meaningfulto ·the areaof subjective well being, and specifically toits cognitive dimension of life satisfaction. However, no research exists that considers the possible relationship among these three variables takentogether. TheFive Factor Model of Personality Personality can be divided into several differentlevels according to the degree of the human behavior that is displayed (Paunonen, Haddock, Forsterling, & Keinonen, 2003). Behaviors that arenarrow can be foundat the lowest level of the hierarchy, followed by increasingly broader characteristic behaviors at the next level. Accordingly, traitcharacteristics can be foundat the third highest level. At the top of the hierarchyare the personality factors, or broad dimensions of behavior that areamalgamations of several of thelower level traits(Paunonen et al.). Through factoranalytic investigations, manyresearchers have foundthat the factorsin the top of the personalityhierarchy fall into exactly five domains. These domains constitute the core of the Five Factor Model of personality (Paunonen et al., 3 2003) and are labeled Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, N euroticism ( or its inverse, Emotional Stability), and Opennessto Experience. These factors, also more commonly known as the Big Five, have emergedas a unified framework for personality (De Raad, 2000; Digman, 1990, 1997; Wiggins & Trapnell, 1997) and is currently the most prominent model of normal personality (Lounsbury, Tatum, Chambers, Owens, & Gibson 1999). The overall structure and integrity of this model has been confirmedin several studies ( e.g., Costa & McCrae, 1994; De Raad). The Big Five model has also been described as being robust, comprehensive, and generalizable across a broad spectrumof culturaland demographic populations (Tokar, Fischer, & Subich, 1998; Costa & McCrae; De Raad). Extraversion Factor