THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY IN RETIREMENT ADJUSTMENT: MEDIATING EFFECTS OF SELF-ESTEEM AUTONOMY AND SOCIAL SUPPORT

摘要

Research on retirement suggests that personality may influence retirement adjustment, but the mechanisms involved in this association remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate direct and indirect effects of the Big Five personality traits on levels and changes in life satisfaction in the transition from work to retirement. Self-esteem, autonomy, social support, self-rated physical health, self-rated cognitive ability, and financial satisfaction were investigated as potential mediators. We analyzed data from three annual measurement waves of the longitudinal population-based Health, Aging, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS) study. Our sample (N = 614) included participants who retired between the first and the third measurement point. Results from latent growth curve mediation models revealed mediating effects of self-esteem, autonomy, and social support in the association between extraversion and life satisfaction, and also a mediating effect of autonomy in the association between neuroticism and life satisfaction. Our findings demonstrate that personality can influence retirement adjustment, but that these effects are largely explained through the role of extraversion and neuroticism for perceptions of self, individual control, and social relations in retirement.