How Much do You Believe in Yourself? The Mediating Effect of Self-efficacy on the Relationship Between Personality Factors and Subjective Well-being in Early Adulthood

Subjective well-being (SWB) refers to how people experience and evaluate their lives and consists of SWLS, positive affect, and negative affect. One factor that has been suggested to be an important predictor of SWB is personality. The current study aimed at further clarifying the association between personality factors and SWB, and to additionally explore whether general self-efficacy acts as a potential mediator on the relationship between personality and SWB in young adults. The sample consisted of 314 participants (41.1 % male, 58.9 % female), who took part in the Flemish Study on Parenting, Personality, and Development (FSPPD). Results showed that extraversion, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and autonomy were predictive of SWLS, positive affect., and negative affect. Moreover, conscientiousness had a significant effect on positive affect, whereas agreeableness predicted negative affect. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed significant mediations between extraversion and autonomy on SWLS, positive affect, and negative affect through self-efficacy. Additionally, GSE also mediated the influence of emotional stability on positive affect. Thus, not only do young adults high on extraversion, autonomy, and emotional stability have higher levels of SWB, but they also have higher levels of self-efficacy which influences their well-being as well.