Positive/Negative Affectivity and Authentic Personality: The Mediator Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties

The studies on predictors of an authentic personality (which is defined as knowing and being faithful to oneself despite the possible influences of the external environment), are somewhat limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between positive/negative affectivity and authentic personality. Three scales previously adapted to Turkish were used: The Authenticity Scale, The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. The study was carried out with 184 students (120 females and 64 male) from a private university in Istanbul. The participants were from various departments ( psychology, health management, international trade, occupational health and safety, pharmacy, biology, English literature) as well as from different class levels (from 1st to 4th class, graduate level). The mean age was 20.75 (SD = 1.97). To test the main aim of the study, two separate mediation analyses were carried out by using PROCESS Macro. The results revealed that emotion regulation difficulties partially mediated the relationships between both positive affectivity and authentic personality as well as negative affectivity and authentic personality. When the results obtained from the models were examined, it was found that, compared to positive affectivity, negative affectivity had a stronger effect on authentic personality. According to the results, it can be argued that compared to those with lower levels of positive affectivity, those with higher levels of positive affectivity have a greater advantage in reaching their authentic personality. Furthermore, compared to those who have lower levels of negative affectivity, those who have higher levels of negative affectivity might be disadvantaged in reaching their authentic personality. The results of the study reveal that interventions aimed at reducing emotion regulation difficulties may enable individuals to support their authentic personality. It can be said that this is more important for individuals with high levels of negative affectivity.