بررسی اثر میانجی گری حمایت اجتماعی و عزت نفس در رابطه بین سبک طنز و رضایت از زندگی در دانش آموزان کالج چینی

In this study, we examined the mediator effects of social support and self-esteem on the relationship between humor style and life satisfaction in Chinese college students. We had 477 university students, with age range of 18–23 respond to self-report measures of humor style questionnaire, multi-dimensional scale of perceived social support, Rosenberg self-esteem scale and satisfaction with life scale. Results of structural equation modeling showed that social support and self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor and life satisfaction. The final model also revealed a significant path from affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor through social support and self-esteem to life satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of the conceptional context.

Being one of the hot topics in positive psychology, many studies relating humor have been done. In these studies, humor was found to be related to both physical and psychological well-being. Greater sense of humor was assumed to be relevant to several positive characteristics such as positive mood (Celso et al., 2003, Kuiper and Martin, 1998, Kuiper et al., 1992 and Martin, 2001). However, a detrimental effect of humor has also been found (Kuiper and Martin, 1998 and Martin, 2002). Some of these contradictory results may be due to the different humor styles that may be more or less beneficial (Martin, 2003). Following the previous studies, the current study aims to investigate the relationship between the styles of humor and life satisfaction, and the mediators in this relationship. Humor style is the way in which individuals tend to express their sense of humor in the social situations. It can be divided into four distinct types (Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, & Weir, 2003). Affiliative humor (adaptive other-focused) is described as the benign use of humor to enhance relationships with others by reducing conflicts and strengthening relationships. Self-enhancing humor (adaptive self-focused) acts to enhance or protect the self as a defense or coping mechanism, as a way to relieve tension, and as a way to assert feelings of control in the face of adversity. Aggressive humor (maladaptive other-focused) is described as the use of humor to enhance the self at the expense of others, typically by the excessive use of sarcasm or disparagement humor. Self-defeating humor (maladaptive self-focused) is the use of humor to enhance relationships with others at the expense of self and is characterized by the excessive use of self disparaging humor.