Positive/ Negative Affectivity and Authentic Personality: The Mediator Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties
Ferzan Curun, Başak Beydoğan Tangör, Elif Çolakoğlu KayaThe studies on predictors of an authentic personality (which is defined as knowing and being faithful to oneself despite the possible influences of the external environment), are somewhat limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between positive/negative affectivity and authentic personality. Three scales previously adapted to Turkish were used: The Authenticity Scale, The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. The study was carried out with 184 students (120 females and 64 male) from a private university in Istanbul. The participants were from various departments (psychology, health management, international trade, occupational health and safety, pharmacy, biology, English literature) as well as from different class levels (from 1st to 4th class, graduate level). The mean age was 20.75 (SD = 1.97). To test the main aim of the study, two separate mediation analyses were carried out by using PROCESS Macro. The results revealed that emotion regulation difficulties partially mediated the relationships between both positive affectivity and authentic personality as well as negative affectivity and authentic personality. When the results obtained from the models were examined, it was found that, compared to positive affectivity, negative affectivity had a stronger effect on authentic personality. According to the results, it can be argued that compared to those with lower levels of positive affectivity, those with higher levels of positive affectivity have a greater advantage in reaching their authentic personality. Furthermore, compared to those who have lower levels of negative affectivity, those who have higher levels of negative affectivity might be disadvantaged in reaching their authentic personality. The results of the study reveal that interventions aimed at reducing emotion regulation difficulties may enable individuals to support their authentic personality. It can be said that this is more important for individuals with high levels of negative affectivity.
Olumlu/Olumsuz Duygulanım ve Özgün Kişilik: Duygu Düzenleme Güçlüklerinin Aracı Rolü
Ferzan Curun, Başak Beydoğan Tangör, Elif Çolakoğlu KayaKişinin kendini bilmesi ve olası tüm dışsal baskılara rağmen kendine sadık kalabilmesi temelinde tanımlanan özgün kişiliğin yordayıcılarını inceleyen çalışmalar alan yazında görece sınırlı sayıdadır. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, olumlu/olumsuz duygulanım ile özgün kişilik arasındaki ilişkide duygu düzenleme güçlüklerinin aracı rolünü incelenmektir. Çalışmada Otantiklik Ölçeği, Olumlu ve Olumsuz Duygulanım Ölçeği ve Duygu Düzenleme Güçlükleri Ölçeği olmak üzere Türkçeye çevrilmiş olan üç ölçek kullanılmıştır. Bu çalışma İstanbul’daki bir vakıf üniversitesinin çeşitli bölümlerinde (sırasıyla Psikoloji, Sağlık Yönetimi, Uluslararası Ticaret, İşletme, İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği, Eczacılık, Biyoloji, İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı) lisans ve lisansüstü olmak üzere farklı sınıf düzeylerinde öğrenimine devam eden 184 üniversite öğrenci (120 kadın ve 64 erkek) ile yürütülmüştür. Katılımcıların yaşlarının ortalamasının 20.75 (SS= 1.97) olduğu bulgulanmıştır. Çalışmanın temel amacını test etmek için PROCESS Macro kullanılarak iki ayrı aracılık analizi yapılmıştır. Bulgular, duygu düzenleme güçlüklerinin hem olumlu duygulanım ile özgün kişilik, hem de olumsuz duygulanım ile özgün kişilik arasındaki ilişkilerde kısmi aracı role sahip olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Modellerden elde edilen sonuçlar incelendiğinde, olumlu duygulanıma kıyasla olumsuz duygulanımın özgün kişilik üzerinde daha güçlü etkiye sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Bulgulara göre, düşük düzeyde olumsuz duygulanıma sahip olan bireylerin, olumsuz duygulanım düzeyi yüksek olan bireylere kıyasla özgün kişiliğe ulaşma açısından daha avantajlı oldukları ileri sürülebilir. Öte yandan, düşük düzeyde olumlu duygulanıma sahip olan bireylerin, yüksek düzeyde olumlu duygulanıma sahip bireylere kıyasla özgün kişiliğe ulaşma açısından daha dezavantajlı olduğu görülmektedir. Çalışmanın sonuçları, duygu düzenleme güçlüklerinin azaltılmasını amaçlayan müdahalelerin, bireylerin özgün kişiliklilerinin desteklenmesine imkân sağlayabileceğini ortaya koymaktadır. Bunun özellikle olumsuz duygulanım düzeyi yüksek olan bireyler açısından daha fazla öneme sahip olduğu ileri sürülebilir.
The present study is based on the model proposed by Wood, Linley, Maltby, Baliousis and Joseph (2008) which considered authenticity as a dispositional construct (i.e. authentic personality) composed of three dimensions, namely; self-alienation, accepting external influence and authentic living. Positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) as well as emotion regulation difficulties (Gratz & Roemer, 2004) were considered as predictors of authentic personality in the present study. It is hypothesized that those who are high in PA will experience lower levels of emotion regulation difficulties and higher levels of authentic personality. That is, those with high PA will be more likely to have a positive outlook for themselves as well as accepting and being motivated to express their authentic personality. Secondly, it is hypothesized that those high in NA will experience higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties and lower levels of authentic personality. Both NA and emotion regulation difficulties can be seen as possible obstacles for individuals to reach and/or to act according to their authentic personality. Lastly, it is hypothesized that emotional regulation difficulties will mediate the relationship between PA/NA and authentic personality. The hypotheses of the study were tested on a group of Turkish university students.
Method
After getting the required ethical permission for the study, the data was collected from university students (120 female and 64 male) from a private university in Istanbul. The mean age was 20.75 (SD = 1.97) and ranged from 18 to 27. The participants were from various departments (psychology, health management, international trade, occupational health and safety, pharmacy, biology, English literature) as well as from different class levels (from 1st to 4th class and graduate level). Three scales which were previously adapted to Turkish, namely, the Authenticity Scale (AS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) were used. In order to test the hypotheses of the study, two separate mediation analyses were carried out by PROCESS Macro (Hayes, 2017).
Results
PA was found to be significantly related to emotion regulation difficulties and authentic personality as r(182) = - .26, p < .01 and r(182) = .34, p < .01, respectively. NA was found to be related significantly to emotion regulation difficulties and authentic personality as r(182) = .63, p < .01 and r(182) = -.51, p < .01, respectively. The correlation between emotion regulation difficulties and authentic personality was found to be r(182) = - .48, p < .01.
Two separate mediational models were also tested in the study. The partially standardized indirect effects (95% LLCI and ULCI) were found to be significant for both models. The LLCI and ULCI were between -.11 and -.58 for the first mediational model, and between .05 and .20 for the second mediational model. The results of the correlational and mediational analyses supported all the hypotheses of the study.
Discussion
The results revealed that emotion regulation difficulties partially mediated the relationships between both positive affectivity and authentic personality as well as negative affectivity and authentic personality. Compared to positive affectivity, negative affectivity was found to have a stronger effect on authentic personality. The results implied that compared to those with lower levels of positive affectivity, those with higher levels of positive affectivity are more advantaged in reaching their authentic personality. Furthermore, compared to those who have lower levels of negative affectivity, those who have higher levels of negative affectivity might be disadvantaged in reaching their authentic personality. The results emphasized the mediator role of emotion regulation difficulties on the relationship between positive/negative affectivity and authentic personality.
NA and PA are considered as stable individual differences, whereas emotion regulation difficulties can be seen as more open to clinical and counseling interventions. The results of the study implied that interventions on emotion regulation difficulties may also be important for increasing one’s subjective experience of authentic personality, which itself is in relation to better psychological health of individuals. Therefore, PA represents an affective resource for reaching authentic personality whereas NA can be seen as an obstacle for reaching and acting according to one’s authentic personality. Therefore, those who are high in NA may benefit from learning better ways for overcoming their chronic negative affectivity which may block their authentic personality. There are some limitations to this study. Firstly, the findings were obtained from a sample group consisting of students from a private university in Istanbul, therefore they may be generalized to university students with similar demographic properties. Future studies can also diversify data by using different groups of participants other than university students. Finally, the results are based on relational analysis, this point should be taken into account when interpreting the causeeffect relationship between research variables.