The role of psychological well-being in the relationship between selfishness and happiness

This study examines the relationship between individuals' selfishness and happiness levels and the mediating role of psychological well-being in this relationship. The study aims to understand the impact of selfish behaviors on individual happiness and to explain how psychological well-being affects this process. In the study, selfishness is considered as the conscious and voluntary prioritization of personal interests, while happiness is the individual's general life satisfaction and positive emotional state. Psychological well-being is defined by factors such as the individual's self-actualization, positive relationships, environmental dominance, and having a purpose in life. The selfishness variable consists of adaptive selfishness, egocentric selfishness, and pathological selfishness sub-dimensions. The happiness scale is one-dimensional and is defined as the Oxford happiness scale in the literature. The psychological well-being scale includes the sub-dimensions of positive emotions, attachment, relationships, meaning, and success, and is included in the literature as the PERMA scale. The study was conducted by conducting a face-to-face survey with 310 university students between the ages of 18-25 studying at universities in İstanbul. According to the results of the study, it was concluded that selfishness does not have a positive and significant effect on happiness, whereas egocentric selfishness, which is a sub-dimension of selfishness, has a positive and significant effect on happiness. It was also revealed that psychological well-being has a positive and significant effect on happiness. As a result of the analyses made by including the sub-dimensions of the three variables examined in the study, the concepts of happiness, selfishness and psychological well-being were examined in the context of all their sub-dimensions and the relevant results were interpreted.