Positive Expectancies and Subjective Well-Being: A Prospective Study Among Undergraduates in Serbia

The present study investigates the relationship between two types of positive expectancies—dispositional optimism and general self-efficacy—and four indicators of subjective well-being—life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and depression—at three time points over a 2-year period. In addition, the moderating role of positive expectancies in the relationship between negative life events and subjective well-being were examined. A total of 367 undergraduate students from Serbia (Mage = 21.57 years) completed measures at each time point. The results of the path analysis showed that optimism was concurrently associated with all indicators of subjective well-being, whereas self-efficacy had consistent concurrent associations only with positive affect. Positive expectancies were generally weak prospective predictors of subjective well-being, with higher levels of optimism at Time 2 (6-month follow-up) predicting higher levels of life satisfaction at Time 3 (2-year follow-up), and higher levels of self-efficacy at Time 2 predicting a higher positive affect at Time 3. Some evidence of reverse causality was also found, with a higher positive affect at Time 1 and Time 2 predicting higher levels of both optimism and self-efficacy at later time points. Positive expectancies did not moderate the relationship between negative life events and subjective well-being. Our results suggest that findings of cross-sectional studies on the relationship between positive expectancies and subjective well-being cannot be generalized to longitudinal data and that causal contribution of positive expectancies to subjective well-being might be overestimated.