Social Support as Mediator of Traits and Self-Esteem. (PDF)

Running Head: Social Support as Mediator of Traits and Self-Esteem. The Mediating Role of Social Support on Personality Traits and Self-Esteem Kedson M. Nogueira Supervisor: Dr. Fearghal O’Brien BA (Hons) Psychology National College of Ireland Submitted to the National College of Ireland, April 2019  ii PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM Submission of Thesis to Norma Smurfit Library, National College of Ireland Student name: Kedson M. Nogueira Student number: 15047890 School: School of Business Course: Psychology Degree to be awarded: BA (Hons) Psychology Title of Thesis: The Mediating Role of Social Support on Personality Traits and Self-Esteem One hard bound copy of your thesis will be lodged in the Norma Smurfit Library and will be available for consultation. The electronic copy will be accessible in TRAP (http://trap.ncirl.ie/), the National College of Ireland’s Institutional Repository. In accordance with normal academic library practice all theses lodged in the National College of Ireland Institutional Repository (TRAP) are made available on open access. I agree to a hard-bound copy of my thesis being available for consultation in the library. I also agree to an electronic copy of my thesis being made publicly available on the National College of Ireland’s Institutional Repository TRAP. Signature of Candidate: Kedson M. Nogueira For completion by the School: The aforementioned thesis was received by____________________ Date:_______________ This signed form must be appended to all hard bound and electronic copies of your thesis submitted to your school  iii PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................. v Abstract.............................................................................................................................. vi 1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Personality Traits and Self-Esteem..................................................................... 2 1.2 Personality Traits and Social Support................................................................ 3 1.3 Social Support and Self-Esteem.......................................................................... 4 1.4 Rationale ............................................................................................................. 6 1.5 Aims and Hypothesis.......................................................................................... 6 2 Methodology............................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Participants.......................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Materials ............................................................................................................. 7 2.3 Design ................................................................................................................. 9 2.4 Procedure .......................................................................................................... 10 3 Results........................................................................................................................11 3.1 Descriptive Statistics..........................................................................................11 3.2 Inferential Statistics .......................................................................................... 12 3.3 Extroversion...................................................................................................... 12 3.4 Agreeableness ................................................................................................... 15 3.5 Conscientiousness............................................................................................. 17  iv PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM 3.6 Neuroticism ....................................................................................................... 18 3.7 Openness........................................................................................................... 19 4 Discussion................................................................................................................. 21 4.1 General Findings and Conclusion.................................................................... 21 4.2 Limitations and Future Implications................................................................. 22 References........................................................................................................................ 24 Appendices....................................................................................................................... 28  v PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank all the participants for taking the time to partake in the study. I would also like to thank my supervisor Dr. Fearghal O’Brien for the guidance and assistance he provided throughout this project. I’d like to thank my lecturers for their kind disposition inside and outside of class. I’d like to thank my Mother, Fernanda for her constant encouragement, and her belief in my ability to achieve anything I am willing to work hard for. I’d like to thank Una for being my family here in Ireland and making my initial transition a comfortable, pleasant, and possible one. I’d like to thank my partner, Madison for the care and support I needed throughout my final year and for her patience in times of stress. Finally, I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to my dear friend, Vincent for stepping in as a guardian when I needed and for providing me with a pleasant living and studying environment at home, his readiness to be of help made my college experience all the more obtainable.  vi PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating affect social support has on personality traits and self-esteem. Previous research has provided a relationship among these variables, yet a lack of attention has been given to the possible mediating role. This study consists of cross-sectional design measuring quantitative data. Participants (n = 95) (Females: n = 70; Males: n = 25) were recruited using a convenience and snowball sampling method through social media ranging from ages 18-70. Participants partook in the study by completing three online self-report questionnaires inputted to Google Forms, including The Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale, The Big Five Personality Trait Scale, The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Data analysis was conducted using Baron and Kenny (1986) mediation analysis. The study investigates three hypotheses: (1) Individuals with higher levels of extroversion, agreeableness, openness, and lower levels of neuroticism will predict greater levels of self- esteem. (2) The relationships between traits and self-esteem is mediated by perceived social support. (3) Females will report greater levels of social support compared to males, and therefore greater levels of self-esteem. The results of the study can be elucidated, and the implications of the study will be further discussed.  1 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM 1 Introduction Self-esteem was first introduced by Abraham Maslow (1943) as a subjective evaluation of one’s self-worth. This concept was introduced as a step in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. His theory states that behavior is motivated by the need to achieve self-actualization, which is “to become everything one is capable of becoming” (Maslow, 1987, p.64). Arranged in a hierarchy, self-actualization is achieved by precedent steps including physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. The third step is defined by the need of social relationship involvement, and belongingness. Maslow also classified self-esteem into two categories: esteem for oneself, and the desire for reputation and respect from other. As Maslow puts it, social needs are a critical step in achieving esteem needs. Lewis Goldberg identified personality traits in five primary factors of personality: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Each trait underlies several correlated and more specific primary factors that describe the tendency each individual’s character to lean towards. Extroversion is described by people who are outgoing and energetic. Popularized by Carl Jung, Extroverted individuals are known to be sociable and have a natural tendency to seek excitement in the company of other. Agreeableness is described by tendency to be friendly and compassionate towards others. It measures one’s helpful and trusting nature (Toegel and Barsoux 2012). Conscientiousness identifies efficiency and organization in individuals. These individuals are well disciplined and dependable and prefer things to be well planned and thought-out rather than spontaneous. Individuals with neurotic tendencies experience more unpleasant emotions, like anxiety, depression and anger. Neuroticism is defined by the degree of emotional stability one has. Openness characterizes one’s curiosity and inventiveness. These individuals prefer variety over routine and seek  2 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM fulfilment in intense and exciting experiences. They also tend to be creative and therefore spending more time in artistic hobbies and intellectual pursuits (Friedman and Schustack, 2016). Certain personality traits, such as extroversion, agreeableness, and perhaps Openness depict more capacity for appropriate social mindedness. On the other hand, the continuum description of neuroticism as a trait suggest individuals who have lower neurotic tendencies may benefit from greater social capacity. These pro-social personality types are of interest to the current study. Based on these descriptions, the literature review will explore if social support and self-esteem can be predicted by the present traits. 1.1 Personality Traits and Self-Esteem Research indicate that personality traits have an influence on an individual’s self-esteem. Niazi & Mehmood (2017) depicted high level of self-esteem in individuals with traits such as extroversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. People with high levels of openness are typically more open to new and unconventional experiences which lead to an exciting lifestyle, and as a result, these types of individuals hold positive self-evaluation and attitudes toward themselves (Niazi & Mehmood, 2017). These findings are also supported on several fronts; according to McCrae and Terracciano (2005), student behaviour involves an interaction between person’s underlying personality traits and situational factors. This behavior can be the outcome of interaction of more than one personality trait of students. They suggested that personality characters can occur together in many students. For example, sociable students tend to be exploring, straight forward and achievement oriented. This suggest that personality traits may also have an effect on a person or group of people’s social behaviour as well. People who share similar traits may attract each other  3 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM socially. Previous study results depicted openness to experience as moderator between neuroticism and self-esteem. These results are in line with study supported by Sheldon, Elliot, Kim, and Kasser (2001), they claimed that self-esteem is a key ingredient of most satisfying life events and there are different sources in life that effect self-esteem especially personality traits. 1.2 Personality Traits and Social Support The relationship between personality traits and social support can be identified in a few of the Big five personality traits. Previous research has identified traits that can influence social support, as understanding personality traits’ relation to successful relationships may help to increase social support (Costa et al., 1985; Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Past research suggests that certain traits aid the effectiveness and availability of social support (Dolan, van Ameringen, & Arsenault, 1992; Kraus, Davis, Bazzini, Church, & Kirchman, 1993). These findings allow individuals to draw on these associations in building social support network. As such, Cukrowicz et al., (2008) investigated social support and personality traits longitudinally and found personality traits such as extroversion, and conscientiousness to change perceived social support significantly. Particularly, conscientiousness was associated with benefits in perceived social support, and those among their sample with greater levels of extroversion reported greater perceived social support. Findings are in line with McCrea & Costa, (1996) description of the natural tendency that conscientious and extroverted individuals have for character adaptation associated with relationships. Kitamura et al., (2002) suggests that trait-like constructs from personality and early life event can be factors that sum perceived social support. Drawing from these conclusions, their study later found the availability of social support linked to personality among women, while social support satisfaction was associated with perceived parenting in men.  4 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM These findings suggest that women may receive more support from others if they are high in extroversion and low in neuroticism. In accordance, Dumitrache, Rubio, and Rubio-Herrera (2017) found extroverted adults in their sample to receive more affectionate emotional, and overall social support compared to introverted older adults. Their study also finds emotional and affective social support to mediate the relationship between extroversion and life satisfaction. Similarly, Tkach and Lyubomirsky (2006) states that extroverted students seek social support from peers to maintain a certain level of life satisfaction. Based on the previous findings, it may be suggested that the affect personality traits have on self-esteem and on life satisfaction, may be explained by social support factors. As for most of the findings suggest, extroversion seems to hold the strongest association with social support and self-esteem. Nevertheless, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism are also known to have their influence, while openness showed little affect and no correlation to social support (Cukrowicz et el., 2008). The following indicates that attention should be brought to personality traits and the patterns they may inform in social relationships and perceived social support. 1.3 Social Support and Self-Esteem To outline the importance of self-esteem, a few studies suggest self-esteem to be positively associated with greater general happiness. The formation of high self-esteem leads individuals to live a happy and healthy life by promoting feelings of confidence when dealing with challenging life situations (Zimmerman, 2000). Bum and Jeon, (2016) found self-esteem to reduce depression, and the positive effects of social support on one’s esteem played a role in stabilizing emotions which promote happiness.  5 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM Previous studies suggest there to be a relationship between social support and self-esteem. Bum & Jeon (2016) finds social support from parents, professors, and peers to be associated with higher levels of self-esteem and lower emotional instability among college student population. Similar findings outline the association in social support on viewing oneself positively and of high value and importance (Caplan, 1974). In light of general, and relationship- based perception of social support, Sarason at el., (1991) finds that the development of positive ego is influenced by satisfactory support received by people important to them. Longitudinal studies on young adults conducted by Lehnart, Neyer, & Eccles, 2010; Neyer & Asendorpf, 2001; Wagner, Becker, Lüdtke, & Trautwein, (2015) illustrates the importance of establishing intimate relationships within a certain time frame and the association it has with an increase in self-esteem. Wagner et al., (2015) found there to be a correlation between having a life partner and high levels of self-esteem. In addition, cohabiting partnership also predicted favourable changes in self-esteem, and relationship status of particular importance for self-esteem. Furthermore, Cakar and Karatas (2012) identifies a causal relationship between self- esteem, perceived social support, and hopelessness, suggesting that adolescents who have high self-esteem perceive more social support, and therefore experience less hopelessness. Concurrent with the previous findings, Tahir, Inam, and Raana (2015) also finds a strong relationship between social support and self-esteem. Alike, Greenberg, Siegel & Leitch (1983) investigated the importance of attachment to parents and peers and found their hypothesis to be supported by results indicating that relationship to parents and peers related to perceived self-esteem. More studies on attachment and self esteem suggest that secure attachments to parents promote adequate communication strategies with peers, these individuals with effective peer group formation develop healthy esteem habits (Sadovnikova, 2016). Therefore, according to present  6 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM findings, we can assume that as social support levels rise, so does self-esteem levels (Ikiz and Cakar, 2010). 1.4 Rationale Substantial research has found social support to mainly influence levels of depression, stress and general happiness. Many have focused on college students and adolescents and haven’t provided enough findings for different age groups. The current study includes a wider range of age groups in the sample, ranging from 18-70 with a mean age of 35 years. While we might assume from most studies that extroverts’ higher levels of self-esteem come from the result of having a wider network, Further insight by Tan et al. (2016) suggests that extroverts high self-esteem enhances their network support instead of their network support enhancing their self-esteem. The direction of this relationship requires further insight, the current study hopes to identify a causal relationship between these variables by conducting a mediation analysis. Furthermore, literature provides significant relations between traits, social support and self-esteem. This suggests a definite association, and a likely mediation of social support on traits and self-esteem not yet explored. In addition, the present research will control for gender differences based on previous findings (Ikiz and Cakar, 2010; Kitamura et al., 2002). 1.5 Aims and Hypothesis The aim of the current research is to explore the affect that personality traits and social support have on predicting self-esteem. It is of interest to know how these variables influence self-esteem and what demographic factors play a role. It aims to enlighten individuals on how  7 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM their personality traits predict self-esteem, as to provide others with empirical information on how to improve their esteem according to trait tendency. In consideration of previous literature, it is hypothesized that individuals who report higher levels of extroversion, agreeableness, openness, and lower levels of neuroticism will predict greater levels of self-esteem (hypothesis 1). As for the second hypothesis (hypothesis 2), The relationships between traits and self-esteem is mediated by perceived social support. Females will report greater levels of social support compared to males, and therefore greater levels of self-esteem (hypothesis 3). 2 Methodology 2.1 Participants The sample for the current study consisted of 95 (Females: n = 70; Males: n = 25) individuals in total. All participants were over the age of 18, (M = 35.36). The sample did not focus on any specific age group and did not include individuals from a vulnerable population. Participants were recruited mainly through social media cites, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook on a convenience sampling method, though a snowball sampling effect unveiled as the first few assessible participants were encouraged to share the survey within their social group. 2.2 Materials The present study employs three separate measure: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965), The Big Five Personality Trait Scale (Goldberg, 1992), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet & Farley, 1988) These measures were inserted into Google Forms, where questionnaires were created as an online  8 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM survey for the present study. The online survey also assessed participants age and gender and included information sheet, consent form, and debriefing information. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale This is a 10-item Likert scale with 5 positively and 5 negatively worded statements. It assesses individual’s self-worth and self-respect on a scale of 0-30 where a score less than 15 may indicate a problematic low self-esteem. Items are answered on a four-point response scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 4 (Strongly Agree). This scale has produced high reliability ratings; internal consistency: 0.77, minimum Coefficient of Reproducibility was 0.09 (M. Rosenberg, 1965) Independent studies with varied samples have presented fairly high alpha coefficients ranging from 0.72 to 0.87. Silber & Tippett, (1965), Shorkey & Whiteman, (1978) calculated test-retest reliability for a 2-week interval at .85, and a 7-month interval at .63. The current study produced high internal reliability with cronbach’s alpha of 0.91. The Big Five Personality Trait Scale Personality traits were measured using The Big Five Personality Trait Scale (Goldberg, 1992). The test assesses individuals on how they measure up in the five factors of personality: Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism. This test includes 50 items where participants self-report on how true each statement is about themselves. Items are answered on a five-point scale from 1 (Disagree) to 5 (Agree). Reliability coefficients for all extracted factors were above 0.7 (Hee, 2014), suggesting the Big Five Inventory to be a valid measure, deemed consistent and reliable throughout the study. The reliability coefficients for all the extracted factors were above 0.7. Thus, the validated measures of the Big Five Inventory were deemed consistent and reliable throughout the study. Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support  9 PREDICTORS OF SELF_ESTEEM Social Support will be measured using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet & Farley, 1988). This test assessed individuals to the extent to which they feel they have support of their family, friends and a significant other. In the interest of the current study, social support was calculated as a total score, instead of separate subscales. This is a 12 item, with a seven-point response scale, ranging from “very strongly disagree” to “very strongly agree”. Scores were calculated by adding all 12 items, then diving them by 12. Mean total scores from this scale ranging from 1-2.9 is considered low support, scores from 3-5 are considered moderate support, and scores from 5.1-7 are considered high support. The MSPSS has proven to be psychometrically sound in diverse samples. Wongpakaran et al., (2011) conducted factor analysis which produced a good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91 for a student group sample, and 0.87 using a psychiatric patient sample. A 4- week retest reliability found correlation coefficient to be 0.84. They also found the Thai-MSPSS to be positively correlated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The current study produced good internal reliability statistics on this scale with Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.85. 2.3 Design The present study incorporated a quantitative, cross-sectional design. Self-report measures were used to determine personality traits, self-esteem, and perceived social support. Data analysis was conducted using the Baron & Kenny (1986) mediation analysis. This mediation analysis consisted of running three separate multiple regression analysis for each personality trait. The first step investigated if each personality trait (IV) could predict levels of self-esteem (CV). If the first step produced a significant relationship, then step two could be conducted to investigate