Good Personality and Subjective Well-Being: Presence of Meaning in Life and Perceived Social Support as Mediators

Abstract

Background: Good personality is a positive moral personality in the context of Chinese Confucianism. Based on a social-cognitive model of normative well-being, we propose that good personality positively predicts subjective well-being, mediated by the perceived social support and presence of meaning in life in the context of Chinese culture. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, there were 665 Chinese adults (134 males and 531 females) who participated in the Good Personality Questionnaire, Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Presence of Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results: Good personality was positively associated with subjective well-being (SWB). Both the presence of meaning in life and perceived social support independently mediated the link between good personality and subjective well-being (SWB), and in Chinese adults, perceived social support has a greater mediating effect than the presence of meaning in life. Conclusion: These findings illustrate that the presence of meaning in life and perceived social support mediate the relationship between good personality and subjective well-being in the context of Chinese culture, which supports the model of normative well-being and can provide more targeted intervention guidance for research on promoting well-being in the Chinese context.