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The Affective Temperaments and Well-Being: Swedish and Iranian Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being

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Abstract

The aim was to investigate the role of the affective temperament model (AFTs) in distinguishing variations in well-being among adolescents from Sweden (n = 222) and Iran (n = 120). Participants self-reported positive (PA) and negative affect (NA), life satisfaction (LS) and psychological well-being (PWB). The model categorizes participants in four different temperaments using the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): self-actualizing (high PA and low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). Across cultures, self-actualizing adolescents reported higher LS and PWB. The PWB sub-scale of self-acceptance was positively related to LS regardless of temperament profile or cultural background. Nevertheless, Iranian adolescents with self-destructive profiles reported higher LS than high affective Iranians. The AFTs model is suggested to offer something unique by taking into account the interaction of PA and NA.

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. Self-actualizing in Norlander’s framework is not to be understood as Maslow’s Self-actualization. Instead it describes self-fulfillment (see among others: Archer et al. 2007; Palomo et al. 2007).

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Acknowledgments

As the first author I would like to thank The Stiftelsen Kempe-Carlgrenska Fonden for supporting the development of this paper. Both authors are indebted to the participants for their help in facilitating the study and to Reza Molaei, Hasan Kiaei, and Azar Taheri for assistance with the Iranian data. Appreciation is also directed to the reviewers and Professor Trevor Archer at the Department of Psychology for his most valuable support and encouraging words. Last but not least we would like to thank to the late Agneta Brimse at the Forensic Psychiatry Research Group for editorial help: Agneta you will be missed!

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Garcia, D., Moradi, S. The Affective Temperaments and Well-Being: Swedish and Iranian Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being. J Happiness Stud 14, 689–707 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9349-z

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