Exploring the relationship between coping humor and subjective happiness: belongingness and forgiveness as serial mediators

Begum Satici

doi:10.5114/hpr.2020.97329

Authors

Begum Satici Artvin Coruh University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5114/hpr.2020.97329

Keywords:

subjective happiness, coping humor, belongingness, forgiveness, serial mediation

Abstract

Background
Positive psychology plays an important role in strengthening mental health. Nevertheless, the relationships between variables have not been clarified yet. The present study used an undergraduate sample to test a mediation-based model of the cross-sectional association of coping humor with subjective happiness, as serially mediated by belongingness and forgiveness.

Participants and procedure
A total of 306 valid participants (51.6% female and 48.4% male), ranging in age from 18 to 26, completed paper and pencil questionnaires assessing subjective happiness, coping humor, belongingness, and forgiveness. The bootstrapping procedure was used for serial mediation.

Results
The results indicated a significant and positive link among subjective happiness, coping humor, belongingness, and forgiveness. In addition, serial mediation analysis revealed that coping humor was associated with higher belongingness, which was associated with increased forgiveness, which were then associated with more subjective happiness. Therefore, coping humor was indirectly associated with more subjective happiness via belongingness and forgiveness, in a serial fashion.

Conclusions
These findings indicated that coping humor could help university students’ belongingness, and improve forgiveness, thereby enhancing their subjective happiness. We suggest possible prevention and intervention programs for increasing subjective happiness among individuals with low coping humor and suggest courses for future inquiry. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abel, M. H. (2002). Humor, stress, and coping strategies. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 15, 365–381.

Adler, A. (1927). Understanding Human Nature. New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc.

Akdoğan, R., & Çimşir, E. (2019). Linking inferiority feelings to subjective happiness: Self-concealment and loneliness as serial mediators. Personality and Individual Differences, 149, 14–20.

Akin, A., & Satici, S. A. (2011). Subjective Happiness Scale: A study of validity and reliability. Sakarya University Journal of Education Faculty, 21, 65–77.

Appau, S., Churchill, S. A., & Farrell, L. (2019). Social integration and subjective wellbeing. Applied Economics, 51, 1748–1761. https://doi.org/10.1080/000 36846.2018.1528340.

Barnes, C. D., Carvallo, M., Brown, R. P., & Osterman, L. (2010). Forgiveness and the need to belong. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1148–1160.

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529

.

Berry, J. W., Worthington Jr, E. L., O’Connor, L. E., Parrott III, L., & Wade, N. G. (2005). Forgivingness, vengeful rumination, and affective traits. Journal of Personality, 73, 183–226.

Chang, E. C., Yi, S., Liu, J., Kamble, S. V., Zhang, Y., Shi, B., ... & Shen, J. (2020). Coping behaviors as predictors of hedonic well-being in Asian Indians: does being optimistic still make a difference? Journal of Happiness Studies, 21, 289–304.

Chen, G. H., & Martin, R. A. (2007). A comparison of humor styles, coping humor, and mental health between Chinese and Canadian university students. Humor, 20, 215–234.

Datu, J. A. D. (2014). Forgiveness, gratitude and subjective well-being among Filipino adolescents. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 36, 262–273.

Du, Y., & Wei, M. (2015). Acculturation, enculturation, social connectedness, and subjective wellbeing among Chinese international students. The Counseling Psychologist, 43, 299–325.

Elemo, A. S., Satici, S. A., & Saricali, M. (2018). Anger rumination and subjective happiness: forgiveness and vengeance as mediators. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 4, 147–158.

Exline, J. J., Baumeister, R. F., Bushman, B. J., Campbell, W. K., & Finkel, E. J. (2004). Too proud to let go: narcissistic entitlement as a barrier to forgiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 894–912.

Ford, T. E., McCreight, K. A., & Richardson, K. (2014). Affective style, humor styles and happiness. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 10, 451–463.

Friedman, P. H., & Toussaint, L. L. (2006). The relationship between forgiveness, gratitude, distress, and well-being: An ıntegrative review of the literature. International Journal of Healing and Caring, 6, 1–10.

Harber, K. D., & Wenberg, K. E. (2005). Emotional disclosure and closeness toward offenders. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 734–746.

Hargrave, T. D., & Sells, J. N. (1997). The development of a Forgiveness Scale. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 23, 41–62.

Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regressionbased approach. Guilford Publications: New York.

Herzog, T. R., & Strevey, S. J. (2008). Contact with nature, sense of humor, and psychological wellbeing. Environment and Behavior, 40, 747–776.

Hickman, G. P., & Crossland, G. L. (2004). The predictive nature of humor, authoritative parenting style, and academic achievement on indices of initial adjustment and commitment to college among college freshmen. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 6, 225–245.

Hutcherson, C. A., Seppala, E. M., & Gross, J. J. (2008). Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion, 8, 720–724.

Jose, P. E., Ryan, N., & Pryor, J. (2012). Does social connectedness promote a greater sense of well‐being in adolescence over time? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22, 235–251.

Kayiş, A. R., & Satici, S. A. (2019). The mediating role of forgiveness in the relationship between coping humor and mental well-being. Kastamonu Education Journal, 27, 1495–1504.

Kuiper, N. A., McKenzie, S. D., & Belanger, K. A. (1995). Cognitive appraisals and individual differences in sense of humor: Motivational and affective implications. Personality and Individual Differences, 19, 359–372.

Larsen, R. J., & Eid, M. (2008). Ed Diener and the science of SWB. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 1–16). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. (2000). Understanding social connectedness in college women and men. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78, 484–491.

Lefcourt, H. M. (2001). Humor: The psychology of living buoyantly. New York: Springer.

Liao, K. Y. H., & Weng, C. Y. (2018). Gratefulness and subjective well-being: Social connectedness and presence of meaning as mediators. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65, 383–393.

Lin, S., Li, J., & Han, R. (2018). Coping humor of entrepreneurs: Interaction between social culture and entrepreneurial experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1449.

Lyubomirsky, S. (2001). Why are some people happier than others? The role of cognitive and motivational process in well-being. American Psychologist, 56, 239–249.

Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137–155.

Lyubomirsky, S., & Tucker, K. L. (1998). Implications of individual differences in subjective happiness for perceiving, interpreting, and thinking about life events. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 155–186.

Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803–855.

Maiolino, N., & Kuiper, N. (2016). Examining the impact of a brief humor exercise on psychological well-being. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 2, 4–13.

Malone, G. P., Pillow, D. R., & Osman, A. (2012). The general belongingness scale (GBS): Assessing achieved belongingness. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 311–316.

Martin, R. A. (2001). Humor, laughter, and physical health: methodological issues and research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 504–519.

Martin, R. A., & Ford, T. (2018). The psychology of humor: An integrative approach. London: Elsevier Academic Press.

Martin, R. A., & Lefcourt, H. M. (1983). Sense of humor as a moderator of the relation between stressors and moods. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1313–1324.

Martin, R. A., Kuiper, N. A., Olinger, L. J., & Dance, K. A. (1993). Humor, coping with stress, self-concept, and psychological well-being. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 6, 89–104.

Marziali, E., McDonald, L., & Donahue, P. (2008). The role of coping humor in the physical and mental health of older adults. Aging and Mental Health, 12, 713–718.

Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motıvation and Personality. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.

McCullough, M. E. (2000). Forgiveness as human strength: Theory, measurement, and links to wellbeing. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, 43–55.

McCullough, M. E., Pargament, K. I., & Thoresen, C. E. (Eds.). (2000). Forgiveness: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Guilford Press.

McCullough, M. E., Worthington Jr, E. L., & Rachal, K. C. (1997). Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 321–336.

Meyer, J. C. (2000). Humor as a double-edged sword: Four functions of humor in communication. Communication Theory, 10, 310–331.

Osman, M., & Miranda, D. (2014). Validation of a new measure of trait forgiveness: Multi-Systemic Forgiveness Scale (MSFS). Personality and Individual Differences, 60, S76–S77.

Páez, D., Seguel, A. M., & Martínez-Sánchez, F. (2013). Incremental validity of alexithymia, emotional coping and humor style on happiness and psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 1621–1637.

Ramírez, E., Ortega, A. R., Chamorro, A., & Colmenero, J. M. (2014). A program of positive intervention in the elderly: Memories, gratitude and forgiveness. Aging & Mental Health, 18, 463–470.

Rieger, A., & McGrail, J. P. (2013). Coping humor and family functioning in parents of children with disabilities. Rehabilitation Psychology, 58, 89–97.

Sarıcam, H., & Akin, A. (2013). Affedicilik Ölçeğinin Türkçe formu: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [Turkish Version of the Forgiveness Scale: Validity and Reliability Study]. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 10, 37–46.

Satici, S. A., & Tekin, E. G. (2016). Psychometric properties of the general belongingness scale in Turkish youth. Current Psychology, 35, 625–631.

Satici, S. A., Uysal, R., & Deniz, M. E. (2016). Linking social connectedness to loneliness: The mediating role of subjective happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 97, 306–310.

Seligman, M. E. (2003). Fundamental assumptions. The Psychologist, 16, 126–127.

Thompson, L. Y., Snyder, C. R., Hoffman, L., Michael, S. T., Rasmussen, H. N., Billings, L. S., ... & Roberts, D. E. (2005). Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. Journal of Personality, 73, 313–360.

Toussaint, L., & Friedman, P. (2009). Forgiveness, gratitude, and well-being: The mediating role of affect and beliefs. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 635–654.

Vural-Batik, M., Bingöl, T. Y., Kodaz, A. F., & Hosoglu, R. (2017). Forgiveness and Subjective Happiness of University Students. International Journal of Higher Education, 6, 149–162.

Wuest, J., Ericson, P. K., Stern, P. N., & Irwin Jr, G. W. (2001). Connected and disconnected support: The impact on the caregiving process in Alzheimer’s disease. Health Care for Women International, 22, 115–130.

Yerlikaya, E. E. (2009). The relationship between humor styles and perceived stress, anxiety and depression of college students. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Cukurova University, Institute of Social Sciences, Adana.

Yoon, E., Hacker, J., Hewitt, A., Abrams, M., & Cleary, S. (2012). Social connectedness, discrimination, and social status as mediators of acculturation/enculturation and well-being. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 86–96.

Yue, X. D., Hao, X., & Goldman, G. L. (2010). Humor styles, dispositional optimism, and mental health among undergraduates in Hong Kong and China. Journal of Psychology in Chinese Societies, 11, 173–188.

Yue, X. D., Liu, K. W. Y., Jiang, F., & Hiranandani, N. A. (2014). Humor styles, self-esteem, and subjective happiness. Psychological Reports, 115, 517–525.