Personality and Relationship Dispositions as Determinants of Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

Costa and McCrae have proposed that neuroticism and interpersonal warmth are major determinants of subjective well-being (SWB) while gregariousness is not. To test this formulation, a range of standard SWB and self-report personality measures was administererd by means of a structured interview to 144 subjects. Multiple regression analysis showed general emotional vulnerability followed by interpersonal warmth to be highly predictive of SWB. Gregariousness was not significantly predictive of SWB. The findings imply that the amount of social support available to an individual may be less important in contributing to well-being than is generally believed.