Life Satisfaction as Related to Personal Values and Self-Evaluation Dimensions in a Greek Adult Population

This study investigates life satisfaction in Greek adults and its association with personal values (PVQ-RR), religiosity, and self-evaluation dimensions, such as general self-efficacy, metacognitive dimensions of general self-efficacy, and four personality dispositions following Rohner's Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory (IPARTheory). Data were collected online (N = 706 adults, 72.4% females). The mean age was 28.27 (SD = 12.06), while 74.10% of the participants reported currently staying in urban locations; 66.3% were students, and 43% were married or in a relationship. The main aims were to: (a) identify the structure of personal values in conjunction with religiosity, self-evaluation measures, personality dispositions (negative self-esteem, negative self-adequacy, emotional instability, and negative worldview), and life satisfaction and (b) examine the causal pathways from self-evaluation measures and religiosity to life satisfaction, mediated by higher-order personal values and co-existing personality dispositions. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the structure for the higher-order personal value dimensions-Self-Transcendence, Self-Enhancement, Openness to Change, and Conservation-as combined with single constructs for personality dispositions and self-evaluation. Further results indicated a small partial mediating effect of the higher-order values of Self-Transcendence and Self-Enhancement on the relationship between general self-efficacy and life satisfaction. A religiosity-life satisfaction relation was also mediated through the Self-Transcendence higher-order value.