Aversion to happiness mediates effects of meaning in life, perfectionism, and self-esteem on psychological distress in Turkish adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective Previous research has found a negative association between aversion to happiness and various aspects of mental well-being. In the present study, we hypothesised that aversion to happiness (as measured by the fear of happiness scale) would mediate the association between psychological distress and three predictors: Meaning in life, self-esteem, and perfectionism. We included five dimensions of perfectionism separately, and a composite of the five dimensions to measure overall perfectionism. Method We used a sample of 317 individuals from Turkey (mean age = 27.31) to test our hypotheses. We employed both ordinary least square regression analysis and path analysis to examine the mediation hypotheses. Results The results of mediation analyses showed that aversion to happiness was a significant mediator of the associations between psychological distress and self-esteem, meaning in life, the five aspects of perfectionism, and overall perfectionism. In a path model with meaning in life, self-esteem, and overall perfectionism, aversion to happiness was found to significantly mediate only the effects of meaning in life and perfectionism. Conclusions These results highlight the importance of meaning in life, self-esteem, and perfectionism as predictors of aversion to happiness and the role of aversion to happiness as a mediator for the links between these predictors and mental well-being.