The purpose of the present study is to positive psychological capital as a mediator in the relationship between Big 5 personality traits and well-being in children. Big 5 personality traits, positive psychological
capital and well-being of 5th and 6th...
The purpose of the present study is to positive psychological capital as a mediator in the relationship between Big 5 personality traits and well-being in children. Big 5 personality traits, positive psychological
capital and well-being of 5th and 6th grade of elementary school students are examined to analyze their general tendency, the gender difference and the correlations among the variables. Next, the study attempted to identify the effects of Big 5 personality traits and the positive psychological capital on children’s well-being. Finally, the effects of positive psychological capital as a mediator were investigated through the relationship between Big 5personality traits and well-being in children. The participants were 421 students (204 male, 217 female) recruited from three elementary schools, in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. All participants filled out a set of questionnaires including the "Child Q-set", "Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ)", and "Korean Well-being Subjective Scale (K-WBSA)"
The findings of the present study are as follows :
First, the result of examining the gender difference in the Big 5 personality traits, the positive psychological capital and children’s well-being showed that girls scored higher in Agreeableness and Neuroticism than boys in terms of Big 5 personality traits.
Second, the correlation among the variables (Big 5 personality traits, the positive psychological capital and children’s well-being) showed a positive correlation with the positive psychological capital and children’s
well-being. By contrast, Neuroticism showed a negative correlation with the positive psychological capital and well-being in children. Furthermore, the total sum of positive psychological capital as well as Self-efficacy, Hope, Resilience and Optimism were significantly positively correlated with the integrated well-being, emotional well-being, psychological well-being and social well-being in children.
Third, the impact of Big 5 personality traits on the well-being in children, the Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Openness to experience had a positive effect on the children’s well-being, while Neuroticism had a negative effect on it. Fourth, the results with regard to the relative influences of positive psychological capital on children’s well-being, all the factors except Self-efficacy, which are Hope, Resilience and Optimism appeared positive correlations with the integrated well-being in children.
Fifth, result of examining mediating effects of positive psychological capital on the relationship between Big 5 personality traits and well-being in children showed that the partial mediating effect of the positive psychological capital was statistically significant in the relationship between children’s well-being and, among the Big 5 personality traits, except Openness. On the other hand, in case of the relationship between Openness to experience and well-being in children, positive psychological capital showed a perfect mediating effect.
Based on these findings, the implications of the present study are as follows. First, there was valuable findings to explore positive psychological capital by expanding the extent from workers in the organizational environment to children in the academic environment. Hence, it explored the antecedents and consequences variables of positive psychological capital not only the subject of research regarding the positive psychological capital but the area of research. Next, the present study suggested directions which could promote the well-being in children by examining the effect of positive psychological capital and Big 5 personality traits on integrated well-being. Moreover, the present study explained the significant role of the positive psychological capital in regard to improving the well-being of children, and it clarified the importance of the positive psychological capital that can be developed. Considering the positive experiences in childhood affects the adulthood and further development, the present study which is usefulness of positive psychological capital provides meaningful data with respect to counseling and educational approach that aims to enhance the well-being of children.