Personal Sense of Uniqueness Mediates the Relationship Between Compassion for Others and Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

Research has found that both compassion for others (CfO) and personal sense of uniqueness (PSU) are positively associated with subjective well-being (SWB). We conducted two studies, one with an emerging adult sample (N = 470), and the other with another emerging adult sample (N = 300) and a middle-aged adult sample (N = 169), investigating whether PSU mediated the relationship between CfO and SWB. In addition to utilizing different age groups for each study, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule were used as a measure of SWB for Study 1 and 2, respectively. The proposed mediation model was supported within both studies: PSU was a significant mediator of the relationship between CfO and both components of SWB in emerging adults and the affective component of SWB in middle-aged adults. The implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are highlighted.