Big Five Personality Traits and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Iranian Muslim University Students

This study presents the first examination of the relation between the Big Five personality traits, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in Iran, which is an understudied country in the well-being literature. Participants were 235 university students at the University of Tehran, all reporting their religious affiliation as Muslim. Findings revealed that the Big Five personality traits explained about 25% of the variance in life satisfaction scores. Among the Big Five traits, extraversion and neuroticism were found to be the strongest predictors of life satisfaction. In addition, it was found that self-esteem significantly predicted life satisfaction over and above the Big Five personality traits. Findings also showed that self-esteem completely mediated the influence of conscientiousness and agreeableness on life satisfaction, while the influence of extraversion and neuroticism on life satisfaction was partially mediated by self-esteem. Furthermore, findings revealed that female students scored significantly higher than male students on life satisfaction. Sex also could moderate the relation between conscientiousness and life satisfaction. This relation was found to be significantly stronger for female students. Implications of the results are discussed with reference to prior studies on the relation between personality traits and different aspects of well-being in Iran.     

Career adaptability as a mediator between personality and career engagement

The current study examined the role of career adaptability as a mediator between personality dimensions and career engagement. This investigation was conducted using a sample of university students (N = 201) who completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire, the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Persian Form, and the Career Engagement Scale. Career adaptability dimensions related positively with activity, negatively with neuroticism, and positively with career engagement. The results indicated that career adaptability dimensions partially mediated the relationships between activity (work compulsion, general activity, restlessness, and work energy) and career engagement, whereas they were a full mediator between neuroticism (anxiety, depression, dependency, and low self-esteem) and career engagement. Among career adaptability dimensions, curiosity fully mediated the effect of sensation seeking on career engagement. These findings suggest that career adaptability is a dynamic mechanism that helps to regulate the relationship between specific dispositional traits and career adapting behaviors.     

Personality and emotional intelligence in teacher burnout

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between teacher's personality types, emotional intelligence and burnout and to predict the burnout levels of 147 teachers in the city of Mashhad (Iran). To this end, we have used three inventories: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I). We used Homogeneity Analysis and Multiple Linear Regression to analyze the data. The results exhibited a significant relationship between personality types and emotional intelligence and the three dimensions of burnout. It was indicated that the best predictors for emotional exhaustion were neuroticism and extroversion, for depersonalization were intrapersonal scale of emotional intelligence and agreeableness, and for personal accomplishment were interpersonal scale and conscientiousness. Finally, the results were discussed in the context of teacher burnout.     

Evaluating the Persian Translation of the National Stressful Events Survey PTSD Short Scale in a Sample of Iranian Earthquake Survivors

In DSM-5, the APA recommended the use of the National Stressful Events Survey PTSD Short Scale, a new self-report scale for PTSD that is brief, consistent with the revised DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, and free of copyright restrictions. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Persian translation of the scale in a sample of Iranian adults who survived an earthquake. A sample of 600 people was selected through multistage sampling and subsequently completed the scale. Results indicated that the good reliability, one-factor structure, and convergent validity of the scale observed for the original English language scale were replicated. The Persian version of the NSESSS appears to be a valid and reliable measure to assess the symptoms of DSM-5 PTSD and may contribute to increasing efforts to identify and treat PTSD in Iran.     

Linking social axioms with indicators of positive interpersonal, social and environmental functioning in Iran: an exploratory study

Social axioms are people's general beliefs about how the world functions and always involve the relationship between two conceptual entities. Social axioms have been proposed as a construct that can be useful in helping researchers interpret cultures and explain people's behaviors in different cultural contexts. Despite the growth of studies on social axioms in various countries, no effort has been made so far to investigate specifically the relation between social axioms and indicators of interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning. To fill this gap, this exploratory study sought to examine the relation between social axioms and a set of variables indicating positive interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning (namely, gratitude, connectedness to nature, social participation, perspective-taking, and empathic concern) in a sample of 303 Iranian university students. Findings showed that reward for application, religiosity, and social complexity significantly predicted gratitude when sex was controlled for. Social complexity and reward for application significantly contributed to explaining the variance in connectedness to nature over and above sex. Social cynicism and social complexity also predicted perspective-taking significantly after controlling for sex. Social axioms were not successful in predicting social participation and empathic concern. Overall, it is possible to conclude that the findings support the utility of social axioms in predicting interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning. That is, generalized beliefs about oneself, the social and physical environment, or the spiritual world are associated with individuals' interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning in this Iranian sample.