Fear of happiness predicts subjective and psychological well-being above the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) model of personality

Abstract

Fear of happiness is an important psychological construct and has a significant effect on life outcomes such as well-being. This study sought to examine whether fear of happiness could explain variance in subjective well-being and psychological well-being domains after controlling for Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS) Model of Personality. A total of 243 participants (189 males and 54 females) completed Fear of Happiness Scale, Positive-Negative Affect Schedule, Psychological Well-being Scales and BIS/BAS personality scales. In terms of correlational analyses, fear of happiness revealed significant negative correlations with positive affect, all domains of psychological well-being except purpose in life (autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance) and BAS fun seeking dimension while a significant positive correlation was found with negative affect. With regard to hierarchical multiple regression analyses, fear of happiness accounted for a unique variance in both affective aspects of subjective well-being, namely positive and negative affect and three aspects of psychological well-being (autonomy, positive relations and self-acceptance) after controlling for BIS/BAS personality model. These results suggested that fear of happiness is uniquely useful to both subjective and psychological well-being beyond the effect of the aspects of BIS/BAS personality.