Adolescent life satisfaction: The role of negative life events and the Big Five personality traits

• Published in: Personality and individual differences 2019-12, Vol.151, p.109548, Article 109548
• Main Author: Jovanović, Veljko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescents; Agreeableness; Extraversion; Five factor model; Life satisfaction; Moderation; Negative events; Negative life events; Personality; Personality traits; Teenagers
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109548

The role of negative life events and personality traits in adult life satisfaction has been widely investigated, but has received less attention in adolescent samples. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, negative life events, and life satisfaction in adolescents. In addition, the moderating roles of personality traits in the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction were examined. The sample consisted of 500 Serbian adolescents, aged 16 to 18 (Mage = 17.37; 67.7% females). The results showed that negative life events, extraversion, and agreeableness had unique contributions to predicting life satisfaction. The moderation analysis demonstrated that personality traits did not moderate the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction. The results of the present study indicate that the association between negative life events and adolescent life satisfaction is independent of personality traits, and support the conclusion that the relative contribution of personality traits to life satisfaction among adolescents is culture-specific.