Influence of fear of happiness on flourishing: Mediator roles of hope agency and hope pathways

Objective Despite recent research demonstrating significant impact of fear of happiness on different forms of well-being, particularly flourishing, few studies have focused on the examination the potential mediators that might play an important role in terms of such impact. This study is intended to evaluate the mediator roles of agency and pathways in the relationship between fear of happiness and flourishing. Method Participants consisted of 226 university students (169 males, 57 females) and aged between 18 and 29 (M = 21.17, SD = 1.72). They completed the Dispositional Hope Scale, Fear of Happiness Scale and Flourishing Scale. Results In terms of the findings, correlation analysis provided initial evidence supporting the link between fear of happiness, hope, and flourishing. The findings of the parallel multiple mediation analysis indicated that agency and pathways accounted for significant variance in the association between flourishing and fear of happiness controlling for gender and socioeconomic status. Conclusion Overall, our results offered support for the link between hope and fear of happiness, suggesting that experiencing less fear regarding engaging in happiness-related beliefs increases levels of motivation for achieving desired goals (agency) and perceived capacity to produce the means towards achieving life goals (pathways) which in turn increase levels of flourishing. The implications of these findings are further discussed.