PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SATISFACTION WITH LIFE IN ADOLESCENTS / OSOBINE LIČNOSTI I ZADOVOLJSTVO ŽIVOTOM KOD ADOLESCENATA

MEDIATION ROLE OF FAMILY ADAPTABILITY AND COHESION / MEDIJATORSKA ULOGA OBITELJSKE PRILAGODLJIVOSTI I KOHEZIVNOSTI

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the potential mediation effect of perceived family adaptability and cohesion on the relationship between personality traits and satisfaction with life in adolescents. The research sample consisted of 425 participants (200 female and 225 male, with average age M=18 (SD=.72). The following instruments were applied: Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, Big Five Personality Factors Self-reported Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. The results of regression analyses indicated that personality traits and family adaptability and cohesion account for 48% of total variance of satisfaction with life in adolescents. It was found that neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience and perception of family adaptability and cohesion are significant predictors of satisfaction with life. A significant predictor of satisfaction with life is also conscientiousness, but only in the model without mediator. Conducted mediation analyses indicate that extraversion and openness to experience affect the satisfaction with life only directly, and conscientiousness only indirectly, through family adaptability and cohesion. For the dimensions neuroticism and agreeableness, however, both direct and indirect effects were significant. The results of this study clearly indicate the importance of perceived family interactions in explaining effects of big five personality traits on satisfaction with life in adolescents and considerably expand the existing empirical data in this area of research.