Dissertation for Master's Degree in Psychology
General Orientation
September 2013
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the role of resilience, self-efficacy and hope in predicting the happiness of secondary school students in Garmsar city. Method: The research method was descriptive-correlation type. The statistical population of this research included all male and female high school students in Garmsar city in 2013-2014. A total of 272 students (132 boys and 145 girls) participated in the present study and were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Research tools included the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Connor and Davidson Resilience Questionnaire, Schwartz's General Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, and Schneider's Hope Scale. The research data were analyzed with SPSS software and Pearson's correlation statistical method and step-by-step regression analysis. Findings: The results obtained in this research showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between self-efficacy and happiness (r=0.41), and resilience with happiness (r=0.40), and hope with happiness (r=0.38) and its components (active thinking with happiness (r=0.31), and strategic thinking with happiness (r=0.30). Also, the research results showed that all three resilience variables At least 20% of the variance in happiness can be predicted. Key words: happiness, resilience, and hope. 1-1 In recent years, a movement called Positive psychology [2] has been created. This tendency studies the positive points and human perfections and in general, the positive aspects of human existence and seeks to use the strengths of people as a shield against diseases (cited by Moltaft [3] et al., 2010). One of the fundamental concepts in the positive psychology movement is the concept of happiness [4]. In recent years, it has been started by psychologists (Qamari, 2009); The study of happiness has grown significantly in the last decade. One of the results of this attention is determining the causes and psychological factors that are reported by the people themselves (Kashdan [5], 2004). According to these studies, researchers investigated the relationship between happiness and a set of personality, economic, social, health status and other variables. The topics related to happiness and how to perceive and recognize it as well as the factors affecting it have always been discussed (Venki, 2013). Seligman (1999) states that during the 1980s, the number of abstracts of psychological articles on life satisfaction, mental health, and happiness reached 780 articles. It seems that the trend of researchers' attention to human pains and sufferings is changing towards life satisfaction and happiness. Despite this, the studies related to happiness are still in the initial and initial stages, for this reason, although the issue of immediately systematizing an index related to happiness can be optimistic, it is possible to pay attention to more extensive research on this issue in the medium and long term, and it provoked new discussions and thoughts in this field (Schimel [6], 2009). In the distant past, people's perception of happiness was synonymous with luck; It means that an external force influences a person and forces him to do something. Along with the Enlightenment era, this belief changed to a great extent. In this era, it was believed that a person's intelligence and responsibility is such that he will be able to determine his own destiny without depending on a ruler. Therefore, the concept of happiness became a concept that was attainable for everyone in time and place. The fact that we can be happy, we wish to be happy and we should be happy, made happiness become a value in societies and forms the basis of the welfare system for all in our societies (McMahon[7], 2006).
Happiness is an aspect of human emotions that has different aspects and glorifications of individual-social, psychological-physical and cognitive-emotional. Since happiness has a great quantitative and qualitative impact on life, it has been emphasized and paid attention to in the process of transformation and development.The purpose of researches related to happiness is to investigate its causes and productive processes, some of its causes such as leisure time, positive mood and even factors such as personality can be changed to some extent. On the other hand, having happiness and good mood has practical and practical consequences in life and work and academic performance. Happiness stimulates a person's activity, increases his awareness, strengthens his creativity and facilitates his social relations and causes health and longevity of people (Vinhoven [8], 1993). Research shows that happiness, regardless of how it is acquired, can improve physical health. People who are happy feel more secure, make decisions more easily, have a more cooperative spirit, and are more satisfied with those they live with (Myers [9], 2002). Increasing individual and social happiness is one of the goals and priorities of many organizations, especially the education organization. The goal of this organization is to create happiness and increase happiness in students. Happiness is related to productivity, academic satisfaction and increasing students' performance; Therefore, increasing the level of happiness requires knowing the factors related to students' happiness. Based on this, the aim of this research is to identify the role of resilience[10], self-efficacy[11] and hope[12] in the level of students' happiness.
1-2 statement of the problem
In recent years, with the expansion of positive psychology[13], the study of happiness has been the main focus of research in this field, and the experimental investigation of happiness by psychologists and sociologists has increased, and psychologists interested in the field of positive psychology have focused their attention on the potential sources of positive emotions such as happiness (Josep and Linley[14], 2004; Cohen and Pressman[15], 2005). In the definition of happiness, psychologists refer to mental happiness, which is an umbrella term that includes all kinds of values ??that a person realizes from himself and his life. These evaluations include things such as life satisfaction, excitement, positive mood, lack of depression and anxiety, and its various aspects are also expressed in the form of cognitions and emotions (Aspinwall[16], 2001; Diener[17], 2002). According to Argyle [18] (2003), happiness consists of three basic parts: emotional, cognitive and emotional. According to them, happiness is not the opposite of depression, but the condition of not being depressed is necessary for happiness. In theories known as the ultimate goal, it is believed that happiness is achieved when people fulfill goals based on their values ??and needs. People who consider their goals more important and more likely to succeed and achieve them will feel more happy, while people with little happiness will feel more purposeful in their goals.
One of the variables that plays an essential role in happiness is resilience. Resilience is a broad concept that researchers have given different definitions of, each of which has addressed one of its aspects. Garmzi and Masten [19] (1991) as research pioneers in this field have defined resilience as the process of a person's ability or the outcome of successful adaptation despite threatening conditions. Rutter (1999) has described resilience as a dynamic process that provides a balance between risk factors and internal and external protective factors and the causes of liberation from the effects and unfortunate events of life. But it is important that in these definitions, resilience is not just passive resistance against injuries or threatening conditions, but a resilient person is an active and constructive participant in his surrounding environment. Resilience is a person's ability to maintain bio-psychological and spiritual balance in the face of risky situations (Connor and Davidson [20], 2003). Kaempfer (1999) believes that resilience is either returning to the basic balance [21] or reaching a higher balance (in threatening conditions) and, as a rule, it should provide the means for successful adaptation in life. Resilience leads to greater life satisfaction by reducing negative emotions and increasing happiness, and is defined as a resource to facilitate overcoming hardships, problems, resistance to stress and eliminating their psychological effects (Pincorart [22], 2009). In the context of the consequences of resilience, a number of researches such as: Lazarus[23], 2004 and Basu[24], 2004, increase the level of happiness and satisfaction with life and another group of researches such as: Hamarat[25] et al. also They have pointed out the effect of this variable in reducing emotional problems and life satisfaction.