Mutluluk Korkusu ve Öznel İyi Oluş: Minnettarlığın Aracılık Rolü

Abstract

Fear of happiness is a dysfunctional belief system that is linked to poorer functioning, and negatively impacts crucial aspects of mental health, specifically subjective well-being. Previous studies have documented that fear of happiness, either directly or through mediators, has an impact on various forms of subjective well-being. Despite the conceptual convergence, no studies to date have investigated the mediating role of gratitude in the relationship between fear of happiness and life satisfaction. The current study aims to explore such a relationship. A total of 344 university students participated in the study from Educational Science Department at Bursa Uludag University. The sample included 264 females (M=21.08, SD= 1.62) and 80 male students (M=21.68, SD= 1.87). Participants completed the Fear of Happiness Scale, Gratitude Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. In terms of results, correlational analyses demonstrated that fear of happiness was inversely correlated with the dimensions of gratitude and life satisfaction. No correlation was found between fear of happiness and the component of appreciation for others. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses indicated that gratitude components of sense of abundance and simple appreciation fully mediated the relationship between fear of happiness and life satisfaction. The results demonstrated that fear of happiness contributes to some of the components of gratitude, such as sense of abundance and simple appreciation, which in turn contributes to life satisfaction. Implications are discussed further.