RELATIONS BETWEEN IMPORTANT LIFE EVENTS, PERSONALITY TRAITS AND LIFE SATISFACTION

Abstract

Aim of this study was to examine relations between personality traits, life satisfaction and important positive and negative life events. Most of the previous research was aimed at assessing the influence of Neuroticism and Extraversion on important life events, while the question of influence of other personality traits and life satisfaction has garnered significantly less attention. Sample consisted of 933 participants. Sample was uniform in respect to gender (50.1% female), and average age of the sample was 34.95 years (SD = 12.87) ranging from 19 to 69 years. Big 5 Personality traits were measured using IPIP BIG 5 questionnaire and SWLS was used to measure cognitive component of life satisfaction (subjective wellbeing). In order to assess life events new questionnaire was created. Scale of important life events consists of two subscales meant to measure frequency of important positive and negative life events throughout the lifetime. Both positive and negative life events are represented by 30 events in the scale (60 in total) which include aspects of material, partner, emotional, health, work and existential life domains. In order to assess relations between personality dimensions, life satisfaction and important life events two multiple regression analyses were conducted. Important negative life events have significant positive relation with Agreeableness, and negative relations with Emotional stability and life satisfaction. Important positive life events have significant positive relations with Agreeableness, Extraversion and life satisfaction. Gender and Education also were significant predictors of positive events indicating that men and higher educated participants experience more positive life events through lifetime. These results are preliminary and in need of further verification. Conclusions of this research are that both personality traits and life satisfaction have important influence on important life events. The results mainly give support to previous results and indicate that life events should not be perceived as independent of personality. This research provides several new insights about the relations between personality traits, life satisfaction and life events, but it is also important to note that more research is needed in order to fully understand the complex nature of these phenomena.