The Effect of Self-Transcendence and Self-Enhancement on the Well-Being of Middle-aged Adults
AUTHOR : 송수진,정영숙
INFORMATION : page. 19~38 / 2017 Vol.24 No.2
ABSTRACT
This research aims to compare the effects of self-transcendence and self-enhancement on the well-being of
316 middle-aged adults aged 45 to 65. The Self-Transcendence Scale(ASTI), Unconditional Self-Acceptance
questionnaire, Concise Measures of Subjective Well-being(COMOSWB), and Ryff’s Scale of Psychological
Well-Being were administered in the study. The results are as follows. First, the hierarchical regression
analysis shows that self-transcendence is positively related to well-being even after controlling for
self-acceptance. Second, after controlling for sociodemographic variables, the hierarchical regression analysis
reveals that self-transcendence and self-enhancement are both associated with greater subjective well-being
and psychological well-being. In order to draw a comparison between two psychological variables on each
of the well-being indicators, we divided the participants into the high self-transcendence, low
self-enhancement group and the low self-transcendence, high self-enhancement group for an independent
t-test. The results show that the high self-transcendence, low self-enhancement group is relatively higher in
the personal aspect of life satisfaction and positive feelings, whereas the low self-transcendence, high
self-enhancement group is higher in positive relationship. The findings reveal that self-transcendence
contributes to additional happiness beyond self-acceptance. Moreover, self-transcendence and
self-enhancement are both promoting variables that may enhance different aspects of happiness.