Does Hope Mediate and Moderate the Relationship between Happiness Aversion and Depressive Symptoms?

Abstract

The literature is beginning to document how and for whom “fear of happiness” (happiness aversion, i.e. the expectation that being happy can have negative consequences) is predictive of psychological outcomes. We sought to determine whether hope, an important protective factor against depressive symptoms, might mediate and moderate the relationship between happiness aversion and depression. In a dataset of 588 undergraduate psychology students, evidence was found that hope functioned as a mediator as well as a buffer in the relationship between happiness aversion and depression. In addition, exploratory analysis of a small longitudinal dataset (N = 74) suggested that hope also played the same roles in the relationship between fear of happiness and depression over time. These findings suggest that interventions that create hope can be effective in disrupting the relationship between happiness aversion and depressive symptoms.