RESEARCH PAPER
Longitudinal investigation on personality traits and mental health relationships: the mediating role of work-family interference and enhancement
1
Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
2
University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
Submission date: 2019-03-15
Final revision date: 2019-09-24
Acceptance date: 2019-09-29
Online publication date: 2019-10-21
Publication date: 2019-11-04
Current Issues in Personality Psychology 2019;7(3):173-188
KEYWORDS
personalityMental HealthWork to Family Interference and Enhancementmental healthwork-to-family interference and enhancement
TOPICS
the role of personality in interpersonal relations and social behaviorsindividual differencesquality of life and well being
ABSTRACT
Background:
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the Big Five personality traits on work-family interference/enhancement and mental health using a three-wave longitudinal design.
Participants and procedure:
The paper draws on a sample (N = 886) from the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey. Structural equa-tion modeling was used to examine the measures of the variables and assess their associations across three time periods.
Results:
The results indicate that conscientiousness and emotional stability are the personality traits that are associated with work-to-family enhancement over time. In addition, work-to-family enhancement is a mediator between emotional stability and mental health. Overall, there exists a positive reciprocal relationship between work-to-family enhancement and mental health throughout the three waves.
Conclusions:
This study showed that there is a bidirectional positive link between work-to-family enhancement and mental health. The find-ings suggest that organizations will benefit not only from developing interventions to enrich employees’ work skills, behav-iors/attitudes but also from promoting their mental health and emotional stability. This study is the first to confirm the partial mediation role of work-to-family enhancement between emotional stability and mental health, and bidirectional relations of work-to-family enhancement and mental health. Moreover, the longitudinal design of this study overcomes the limitations of prior cross-sectional studies in evaluating the relationships of constructs.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the Big Five personality traits on work-family interference/enhancement and mental health using a three-wave longitudinal design.
Participants and procedure:
The paper draws on a sample (N = 886) from the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey. Structural equa-tion modeling was used to examine the measures of the variables and assess their associations across three time periods.
Results:
The results indicate that conscientiousness and emotional stability are the personality traits that are associated with work-to-family enhancement over time. In addition, work-to-family enhancement is a mediator between emotional stability and mental health. Overall, there exists a positive reciprocal relationship between work-to-family enhancement and mental health throughout the three waves.
Conclusions:
This study showed that there is a bidirectional positive link between work-to-family enhancement and mental health. The find-ings suggest that organizations will benefit not only from developing interventions to enrich employees’ work skills, behav-iors/attitudes but also from promoting their mental health and emotional stability. This study is the first to confirm the partial mediation role of work-to-family enhancement between emotional stability and mental health, and bidirectional relations of work-to-family enhancement and mental health. Moreover, the longitudinal design of this study overcomes the limitations of prior cross-sectional studies in evaluating the relationships of constructs.
REFERENCES (88)
1.
Abdi, H. (2003). Factor rotations in factor analyses. In M. Lewis-Beck, A. Bryman, & T. Futing (Eds.), Encyclo-pedia of Social Sciences Research Methods (pp. 792–795). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2.
Allen, T., Herst, D., Bruck, C., & Sutton, M. (2000). Consequences associated with work to family conflict: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 278–308. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8....
3.
Argyle, M., & Lu, L. (1990). The happiness of extraverts. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1011–1017. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8....
4.
Baltes, B. B., Zhdanova, L. S., & Clark, M. A. (2011). Examining the relationships between personality, coping strategies, and work-family conflict. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26, 517–530. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869....
5.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological re-search: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3....
6.
Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744....
7.
Bergeman, C. S., Chlpuer, H. M., Plomin, R., Pedersen, N. L., McClearn, G. E., Nesselroade, J. R., Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1993). Genetic and environmental effects on openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness: An adoption/twin study. Journal of Personality, 61, 159–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467....
8.
Berg-Weger, M., Rubio, D., & Tebb, S. (2001). Strengths-based practice with family caregivers of the chronically ill: Qualitative insights. Families in Society, 82, 263–272. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3....
9.
Berkowitz, L. (1990). On the formation and regulation of anger and aggression: A cognitive-neoassociationistic analysis. American Psychologist, 45, 494–503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-0....
10.
Brebner, J. (2001). Personality and stress coping. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 317–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-....
11.
Brebner, J., Donaldson, J., Kirby, N., & Ward, L. (1995). Relationships between happiness and personality. Per-sonality and Individual Differences, 19, 251–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8....
12.
Breslin, F. C., & Mustard, C. (2003). Factors influencing the impact of unemployment on mental health among young and older adults in a longitudinal, population-based survey. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environ-ment & Health, 29, 5–14. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.....
13.
Byrne, B. M., Shavelson, R. J., & Muthén, B. (1989). Testing for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement invariance. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 456–466. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2....
14.
Casper, W. J., Eby, L. T., Bordeaux, C., Lockwood, A., & Lambert, D. (2007). A review of research methods in IO/OB work-family research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 28–43. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9....
15.
Casper, W. J., Harris, C., Taylor-Bianco, A., & Wayne, J. H. (2011). Work-family conflict, perceived supervisor support and organizational commitment among Brazilian professionals. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 640–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.....
16.
Casper, W. J., De Hauw, S., & Wayne, J. H. (2013). Concepts and measures in the work-family interface: Impli-cations for work-family integration. In D. A. Major & R. Burke (Eds.), Handbook of work-life integration among professionals: Challenges and opportunities (pp. 35–57). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publish-ing.
17.
Caspi, A., Roberts, B. W., & Shiner, R. L. (2005). Personality development: Stability and change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453–484. https://doi.org/10.1146/annure....
18.
Cheng, H., & Furnham, A. (2001). Attributional style and personality as predictors of happiness and mental health. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2, 307–327. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011....
19.
Cho, E., & Tay, L. (2016). Domain satisfaction as a mediator of the relationship between work–family spillover and subjective well-being: a longitudinal study. Journal of Business and Psychology, 31, 445–457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869....
20.
Clark, L. A., & Watson, D. (1991). General affective dispositions in physical and psychological health. In C. R. Snyder & D. R. Forsyth (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective (pp. 224–245). New York: Pergamon Press.
21.
Cole, D. A., & Maxwell, S. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 558–577. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-8....
22.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1980). Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: Hap-py and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 668–678. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3....
23.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1988). Personality in adulthood: a six-year longitudinal study of self-reports and spouse ratings on the NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 853–863. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-....
24.
Costa, P. T., McCrae, R. R., & Dye, D. (1991). Facet scales for agreeableness and conscientiousness: A revision of the NEO Personality Inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 887–898. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8....
25.
DeNeve, K., & Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: A meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjec-tive well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 197–229. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2....
26.
Edwards, J. R., & Rothbard, N. P. (2000). Mechanisms linking work and family: Clarifying the relationship be-tween work and family constructs. Academy of Management Review, 25, 178–199. https://doi.org/10.2307/259269.
27.
Fang, R., Landis, B., Zhang, Z., Anderson, M. H., Shaw, J. D., & Kilduff, M. (2015). Integrating personality and social networks: A meta-analysis of personality, network position, and work outcomes in organizations. Or-ganization Science, 26, 1243–1260. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2....
28.
Feldt, T., Metsapelto, R. L., Kinnunen, U., & Pulkkinen, L. (2007). Sense of coherence and five-factor approach to personality. European Psychologist, 12, 165–172. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9....
29.
Frijters, P., Johnston, D. W., & Shields, M. A. (2014). The effect of mental health on employment: Evidence from Australian panel data. Health Economics, 23, 1058–1071. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.30....
30.
Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9....
31.
Frone, R. M., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1997). Relation of work-family conflict to health outcomes: A four-year longitudinal study of employed parents. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 70, 325–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044....
32.
Frye, N. K., & Breaugh, J. A. (2004). Family-friendly policies, supervisor support, work–family conflict, family–work conflict, and satisfaction: A test of a conceptual model. Journal of Business and Psychology, 19, 197–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869....
33.
Fujimoto, Y., Azmat, F., & Härtel, C. E. (2013). Gender perceptions of work-life balance: Management implica-tions for full-time employees in Australia. Australian Journal of Management, 38, 147–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/031289....
34.
Furnham, A., & Cheng, H. (1999). Personality as predictor of mental health and happiness in the East and West. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 395–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-....
35.
Goldberg, L. R. (1993). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American Psychologist, 48, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-....
36.
Goode, A., & Watson N. (Eds.) (2007) HILDA User Manual – Release 5.0. Melbourne: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne.
37.
Goodwin, R. D., & Friedman, H. S. (2006). Health status and the five-factor personality traits in a nationally representative sample. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 643–654. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910....
38.
Graziano, W. G., & Eisenberg, N. (1997). Agreeableness: A dimension of personality. In R. Hogan, J. A. Johnson, & S. R. Briggs (Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 795–824). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
39.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Man-agement Review, 10, 76–88. https://doi.org/10.2307/258214.
40.
Grzywacz, J. (2000). Work-family spillover and health during midlife: Is managing conflict everything? Ameri-can Journal of Health Promotion, 14, 236–243. https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1....
41.
Grzywacz, J. G., & Marks, N. F. (2000). Reconceptualizing the work-family interface: An ecological perspective on the correlates of positive and negative spillover between work and family. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8....
42.
Haslam, N., Whelan, J., & Bastian, B. (2009). Big five traits mediate associations between values and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 40–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid....
43.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psycholo-gist, 44, 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-....
44.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/107055....
45.
Hurtz, G. M., & Donovan, J. J. (2000). Personality and job performance: The Big Five revisited. Journal of Ap-plied Psychology, 85, 869–879. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9....
46.
Judge, T. A., Heller, D., & Mount, M. K. (2002). Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 530–541. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9....
47.
Judge, T. A., Higgins, C. A., Thoresen, C. J., & Barrick, M. R. (1999). The Big-Five personality traits, general abil-ity, and career success across the life span. Personnel Psychology, 52, 621–652. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744....
48.
Judge, T. A., & Ilies, R. (2002). Relationship of personality to performance motivation: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 797–807. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9....
49.
Kinnunen, U., Feldt, T., Geurts, S., & Pulkkinnen, L. (2006). Types of work-family interface: Well-being corre-lates of negative and positive spillover between work and family. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47, 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467....
50.
Kinnunen, U., Vermulst, A., Gerris, J., & Makikangas A. (2003). Work-family conflict and its relations to well-being: The role of personality as a moderating factor. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 1669–1683. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-....
51.
Kossek, E., Noe, R., & DeMarr, B. (1999). Work-family role synthesis: Individual and organizational determi-nants. International Journal of Conflict Management, 10, 102–129. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb0228....
52.
Kotov, R., Gamez, W., Schmidt, F., & Watson, D. (2010). Linking “big” personality traits to anxiety, depressive, and substance use disorders: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 768–821. https://doi.org/10.1037/a00203....
53.
Losoncz, I. (2009). Personality traits in HILDA. Australian Social Policy, 8, 169–198.
54.
Losoncz, I., & Bortoiotto, N. (2009). Work-life balance: The experiences of Australian working mothers. Journal of Family Studies, 15, 122–138. https://doi.org/10.5172/jfs.15....
55.
Marshall, N. L., & Barnett, R. C. (1993). Work-family strains and gains among two-earner couples. Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 64–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6....
56.
Matzler, K., & Renzl, B. (2007). Personality traits, employee satisfaction and affective commitment.
58.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1991). Adding Liebe und Arbeit: The full five-factor model and well-being. Per-sonality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 227–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616....
59.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1994). The stability of personality: Observations and evaluations. Current Direc-tions in Psychological Science, 3, 173–175. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8....
60.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2008). The five-factor theory of personality. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 159–181). New York: Guilford Press.
61.
McCrae, R. R., & John, O. P. (1992). An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. Journal of Personality, 60, 175–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467....
62.
McNall, L. A., Nicklin, J. M., & Masuda, A. D. (2010). A meta-analytic review of the consequences associated with work-family enrichment. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 381–396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869....
63.
Mesmer-Magnus, J., & Viswesvaran, C. (2005). Convergence between measures of work to family and family to work conflict: A meta-analytic examination. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 215–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.....
64.
Murphy, G. C., & Athanasou, J. A. (1999). The effect of unemployment on mental health. Journal of Occupa-tional and Organizational Psychology, 72, 83–99. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317....
65.
Odle-Dusseau, H. N., Britt, T. W., & Bobko, P. (2012). Work-family balance, well-being, and organizational out-comes: Investigating actual versus desired work/family time discrepancies. Journal of Business and Psychol-ogy, 27, 331–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869....
66.
Penley, J. A., & Tomaka, J. (2002). Association among the Big Five, emotional responses, and coping with acute stress. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 1215–1228. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-....
67.
Pittenger, D. J. (2004). The limitations of extracting typologies from trait measures of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 779–787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid....
68.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9....
69.
Rantanen, J., Pulkkinen, L., & Kinnunen, U. (2005). The Big Five personality dimensions, work-family conflict, and psychological distress: A longitudinal view. Journal of Individual Differences, 26, 155–166. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0....
70.
Reynolds, J., & Aletraris, L. (2007). Work-family conflict, children, and hour mismatches in Australia. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 749–772. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251....
71.
Roberts, B. W., & DelVecchio, W. F. (2000). The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: a quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 3–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2....
72.
Roccas, S., Sagiv, L., Schwartz, S. H., & Knafo, A. (2002). The Big Five personality factors and personal values. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 789–801. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616....
73.
Saucier, G. (1994). Mini-markers: A brief version of Goldberg’s Big-Five markers. Journal of Personality As-sessment, 63, 506–516. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327....
74.
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2009). Psychology (2nd ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.
75.
Schieman, S., & Glavin, P. (2011). Education and work-family conflict: Explanations, contingencies and mental health consequences. Social Forces, 89, 1341–1362. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/89.....
76.
Shirazi, M., Khan, M. A., & Ansari, M. F. A. (2013). Mental health in relation to personality characteristics among professional and non-professional students. Journal of Arts, Science and Commerce, 1, 105–114.
77.
Sieber, S. D. (1974). Toward a theory of role accumulation. American Sociological Review, 39, 567–578. https://doi.org/10.2307/209442....
78.
Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equations models. In S. Leinhart (Ed.), Sociological Methodology (pp. 290–312). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
79.
Soldz, S., & Vaillant, G. E. (1999). The Big Five personality traits and the life course: A 45-year longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 208–232. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1....
80.
Tan, M. (2007). The effects of family cohesion and personality on the mental health of young Australians. Pre-liminary draft. Retrieved from https://melbourneinstitute.uni....
81.
Vollrath, M., & Torgersen, S. (2000). Personality types and coping. Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 367–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-....
82.
Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1992). On traits and temperament: General and specific factors of emotional experi-ence and their relation to the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 60, 441–476. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467....
83.
Watson, D., & Hubbard, B. (1996). Adaptational style and dispositional structure: Coping in the context of the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 64, 735–774. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467....
84.
Wayne, J. H., Musisca, N., & Fleeson, W. (2004). Considering the role of personality in the work-family experi-ence: Relationship of the big five to work-family conflict and facilitation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64, 108–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-....
85.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2005). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice. Geneva: World Health Organization.
86.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2006). Economic aspects of mental health: Key messages to health plan-ners and policy makers. Technical report. Geneva: World Health Organization.
87.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2013), Investing in mental health: Evidence for action. Geneva: World Health Organization.
88.
Zapf, D., Dormann, C., & Frese, M. (1996). Longitudinal studies in organizational stress research: a review of the literature with reference to methodological issues. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1, 145–169. https://doi.org/10.1037//1076-....
Copyright: © Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 2353-561X |
| ISSN: | 2353-4192 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
