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Related Experiment Video

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The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

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Published on: November 19, 2015

Authenticity, life satisfaction, and distress: a longitudinal analysis.

Güler Boyraz¹, J Brandon Waits¹, Victoria A Felix¹

¹Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Louisiana Tech University.

Journal of Counseling Psychology

|July 15, 2014

Summary

Authenticity positively impacts well-being, predicting greater life satisfaction and lower distress. However, distress and life satisfaction do not appear to influence authenticity over time in college students.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Well-being Research
Social Psychology

Background:

Authenticity is a key component of psychological health.
Understanding the dynamic interplay between authenticity and well-being is crucial.
Previous research has explored these relationships, but longitudinal evidence is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the reciprocal associations between authenticity and indicators of life satisfaction and distress.
To examine these relationships within a college student population.
To employ a longitudinal, two-wave panel study design.

Main Methods:

A sample of 232 college students from two public universities participated.
Data were collected at two distinct time points (two-wave panel study).
Structural equation modeling, specifically cross-lagged panel analysis, was utilized.

Main Results:

Initial authenticity (Time 1) significantly predicted higher life satisfaction and lower distress at Time 2.
Distress and life satisfaction at Time 1 did not significantly predict authenticity at Time 2.
The predictive power between authenticity and distress was comparable in both directions.

Conclusions:

Authenticity appears to be a significant antecedent to psychological well-being in college students.
The relationship between authenticity and well-being may be more unidirectional than reciprocal in this population.
Findings align with humanistic-existential theories and contribute to empirical well-being research.