The Relationship Between Fear of Happiness, Optimism-Pessimism, and Personality in University Students: A Correlational Study

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationships of fear of happiness with optimism-pessimism, and personality among university students. It employed a correlational research design. The participants were 420 university students enrolled at different universities and in different academic programs. Data were collected using the Fear of Happiness Scale, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, and the Optimism-Pessimism Scale. Independent-samples t tests, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that agreeableness and emotional stability differed significantly by gender. Fear of happiness was moderately and negatively related to conscientiousness and emotional stability, and weakly and negatively related to extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience. It also had a moderate negative relationship with optimism and a moderate positive relationship with pessimism. The regression results showed that the five personality dimensions, and optimism-pessimism jointly explained 35.1% of the variance in fear of happiness scores. Pessimism was a significant positive predictor of fear of happiness, whereas optimism and emotional stability were significant negative predictors. These findings point to the importance of considering personality traits, pessimism, and optimism in efforts to address fear of happiness among university students.