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Differences in subjective well-being between individuals with distinct Joint Personality (temperament-character) networks in a Bulgarian sample

Garcia, Danilo LU orcid ; Kazemitabar, Maryam ; Stoyanova, Kristina ; Stoyanov, Drozdstoy and Cloninger, C. Robert (2022) In PeerJ 10.
Abstract

Background. Personality is the major predictor of people’s subjective well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction). Recent research in countries with high-income and strong self-transcendent values shows that well-being depends on multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits (i.e., Joint Personality Networks) that regulate the way people learn to adapt their habits to be in accord with their goals and values, rather than individual traits. To evaluate the prevalence and the associations of different Joint Personality (temperament-character) Networks with well-being in a low-income country with weak self-transcendent values, we tested their association in Bulgarian adults, a population... (More)

Background. Personality is the major predictor of people’s subjective well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction). Recent research in countries with high-income and strong self-transcendent values shows that well-being depends on multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits (i.e., Joint Personality Networks) that regulate the way people learn to adapt their habits to be in accord with their goals and values, rather than individual traits. To evaluate the prevalence and the associations of different Joint Personality (temperament-character) Networks with well-being in a low-income country with weak self-transcendent values, we tested their association in Bulgarian adults, a population known to have strong secular-rationalist values but weak self-transcendent values. Method. The sample consisted of 443 individuals from Bulgaria (68.70% females) with a mean age of 34 years (SD = 15.05). Participants self-reported personality (Temperament and Character Inventory), affect (Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule), and life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale). The personality scores were used for profiling through latent profile analysis and latent class analysis based on temperament configurations (i.e., Temperament Profiles) of high/low scores of Novelty Seeking (N/n), Harm Avoidance (H/h), Reward Dependence (R/r), and Persistence (P/s); and character configurations (i.e., Character Profiles) of high/low scores of Self-Directedness (S/s), Cooperativeness (C/c), and Self-Transcendence (T/t). Results. We found two Temperament Profiles and two Character Profiles that clustered into two distinctive Joint Personality Networks. All individuals in Joint Personality Network 1 had a Reliable (nhRP) Temperament Profile in combination with an Organized (SCt) Character Profile (i.e., a stable temperament and a healthy character configuration). About 71.9% in Joint Personality Network 2 had an Apathetic (sct) Character Profile in combination with Methodical (nHrp) or Reliable (nhRP) Temperament Profiles, while 28.1% had a Methodical (nHrp) Temperament Profile in combination with an Organized (SCt) Character Profile. Few people with high self-expressive values (i.e., high in all three character traits; SCT) were found. Individuals with a Joint Personality Network 1 with strong secular-rationalist values reported higher levels of positive affect and life satisfaction (p < .001), while individuals with a Joint Personality Network 2 reported higher levels of negative affect (p < .001). Conclusions. Although a stable temperament and a healthy character were separately important for well-being, it was clear that it was the interaction between such temperament and character configuration that yielded greater levels of subjective wellbeing. Nevertheless, future research needs to investigate this interaction further to evaluate other cultures with variable configurations of personality traits and values.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Affectivity, Bulgaria, Character, Joint personality networks, Latent class analysis, Latent profile analysis, Life satisfaction, Personality profiles, Subjective well-being, Temperament
in
PeerJ
volume
10
article number
e13956
publisher
PeerJ
external identifiers
  • pmid:36046505
  • scopus:85139006858
ISSN
2167-8359
DOI
10.7717/peerj.13956
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ca3a0cf7-e600-44fe-8c4d-c85d04481cb1
date added to LUP
2022-12-12 12:40:07
date last changed
2024-04-18 16:17:34
@article{ca3a0cf7-e600-44fe-8c4d-c85d04481cb1,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background. Personality is the major predictor of people’s subjective well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction). Recent research in countries with high-income and strong self-transcendent values shows that well-being depends on multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits (i.e., Joint Personality Networks) that regulate the way people learn to adapt their habits to be in accord with their goals and values, rather than individual traits. To evaluate the prevalence and the associations of different Joint Personality (temperament-character) Networks with well-being in a low-income country with weak self-transcendent values, we tested their association in Bulgarian adults, a population known to have strong secular-rationalist values but weak self-transcendent values. Method. The sample consisted of 443 individuals from Bulgaria (68.70% females) with a mean age of 34 years (SD = 15.05). Participants self-reported personality (Temperament and Character Inventory), affect (Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule), and life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale). The personality scores were used for profiling through latent profile analysis and latent class analysis based on temperament configurations (i.e., Temperament Profiles) of high/low scores of Novelty Seeking (N/n), Harm Avoidance (H/h), Reward Dependence (R/r), and Persistence (P/s); and character configurations (i.e., Character Profiles) of high/low scores of Self-Directedness (S/s), Cooperativeness (C/c), and Self-Transcendence (T/t). Results. We found two Temperament Profiles and two Character Profiles that clustered into two distinctive Joint Personality Networks. All individuals in Joint Personality Network 1 had a Reliable (nhRP) Temperament Profile in combination with an Organized (SCt) Character Profile (i.e., a stable temperament and a healthy character configuration). About 71.9% in Joint Personality Network 2 had an Apathetic (sct) Character Profile in combination with Methodical (nHrp) or Reliable (nhRP) Temperament Profiles, while 28.1% had a Methodical (nHrp) Temperament Profile in combination with an Organized (SCt) Character Profile. Few people with high self-expressive values (i.e., high in all three character traits; SCT) were found. Individuals with a Joint Personality Network 1 with strong secular-rationalist values reported higher levels of positive affect and life satisfaction (p &lt; .001), while individuals with a Joint Personality Network 2 reported higher levels of negative affect (p &lt; .001). Conclusions. Although a stable temperament and a healthy character were separately important for well-being, it was clear that it was the interaction between such temperament and character configuration that yielded greater levels of subjective wellbeing. Nevertheless, future research needs to investigate this interaction further to evaluate other cultures with variable configurations of personality traits and values.</p>}},
  author       = {{Garcia, Danilo and Kazemitabar, Maryam and Stoyanova, Kristina and Stoyanov, Drozdstoy and Cloninger, C. Robert}},
  issn         = {{2167-8359}},
  keywords     = {{Affectivity; Bulgaria; Character; Joint personality networks; Latent class analysis; Latent profile analysis; Life satisfaction; Personality profiles; Subjective well-being; Temperament}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{PeerJ}},
  series       = {{PeerJ}},
  title        = {{Differences in subjective well-being between individuals with distinct Joint Personality (temperament-character) networks in a Bulgarian sample}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13956}},
  doi          = {{10.7717/peerj.13956}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}