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http://dx.doi.org/10.5723/kjcs.2016.37.1.83

Family Cohesion and Happiness of Youth: Mediating Effects of a Positive Attitude  

Kim, Min Ji (Department of Psychology, Kyungnam University)
Ko, Jaehong (Department of Psychology, Kyungnam University)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Child Studies / v.37, no.1, 2016 , pp. 83-94 More about this Journal
Abstract
Objective: This study investigated how family cohesion influences adolescents' positive attitude formation and their happiness as classified into hedonistic happiness and eudaimonistic happiness. We also examined whether adolescents' positive attitude functions as a mediator between family cohesion and the two kinds of happiness. Particularly, positive attitude consists of three subfactors: positive perspective, self-positivity, and social positivity. This study focused on exploring which subfactor primarily plays a mediating role. Methods: A total of 320 middle school students participated in the present study. Results and Conclusion: The findings of the study are as follows: first, positive attitude was shown to function as a mediator between family cohesion and two kinds of happiness. Second, through an analysis of multiple mediation, self-positivity and social positivity were found to be mediators between family cohesion and hedonistic happiness. However, positive perspective and self-positivity were revealed to serve as mediators between family cohesion and eudaimonistic happiness. Only self-positivity, being considered as a core construct of positive attitude, turned out to be a common mediator between family cohesion and the two kinds of happiness.
Keywords
Happiness; Positive attitude; Family cohesion; Multiple mediation;
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