Background The life satisfaction of elderly persons has been extensively investigated and discussed. However, a literature review shows that relatively few studies have focused on the effect of loneliness on the life satisfaction of older adults. Some researchers have acknowledged that the character of the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction is still unclear, and this association is much more complex that it appears to be. Therefore, the main purpose of the current study was to understand how loneliness is associated with satisfaction, and whether self-esteem and educational involvement in the University of the Third Age (U3A) courses can affect this relationship among elderly people. Methods The research was conducted on a group of 179 elderly adults (65% women). We measured loneliness, satisfaction, and self-esteem. The data were collected via the paper-and-pencil format through convenience sampling, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Results The results obtained show that loneliness correlated negatively with self-esteem and life satisfaction. Self-esteem was associated positively with life satisfaction. Self-esteem acted as a suppressor between loneliness and life satisfaction. The participation of older adults in U3A moderated the strength of the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction (direct effect) and between loneliness and life satisfaction mediated by self-esteem (indirect effect). Conclusion The mediatory role of self-esteem and the moderating role of educational activities in the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction in late adulthood have important developmental and social implications. It appears that although feelings of loneliness and social isolation have a negative association on the life satisfaction of older adults, this relationship may be altered by empowering seniors’ self-esteem through their involvement in lifelong learning. Such a solution supports the functioning of older people also at the social level.

Background A comprehensive literature review suggests that self-esteem seems to be contingent on being satisfied in various domains of life. Although there are multiple studies that have addressed the direct relationship between both variables, there is still little known about the psychological mechanisms that underlie this association. Since self-presentation is an important process in young adulthood, the main goal of the present study was to consider self-promotion and self-deprecation as potential mediators between life satisfaction and self-esteem. Participants, Methods and Data Collection The study included 328 young adults aged between 18 and 35. Most of them were women (74.1%). The data were collected in Poland through an anonymous self-administered battery of questionnaires on the Internet platform. The participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Self-Presentation Style Questionnaire. Results A high and positive correlation coefficient was obtained between self-esteem and life satisfaction ( r = 0.73; p < 0.001). The level of self-esteem correlated positively with the style of self-promotion ( r = 0.46; p < 0.001) and negatively with the style of self-deprecation ( r = −0.63; p < 0.001). Similarly, life satisfaction was positively associated with self-promotion ( r = 0.37; p < 0.001) and negatively with self-depreciation ( r = −0.42; p < 0.001). Moreover, both self-promotion (β = 0.67; p < 0.001) and self-deprecation (β = 0.58; p < 0.001) acted as mediators between life satisfaction and self-esteem. Conclusion The present study increases our knowledge about the mediatory role of self-promotion and self-deprecation. An overall sense of satisfaction with one’s own life can lead to higher self-esteem when young people are aware of their strengths and talents. Likewise, lower life satisfaction can elicit less positive self-esteem when people tend to undervalue their capabilities.

Background Among many possible variables that can be associated with gratitude, researchers list personality traits. Considering that these relationships are not always consistent, the first purpose of the present study was to verify how the Big Five factors connect to dispositional gratitude in a sample of Polish participants. The second purpose was to assess the unique contribution of personality traits on gratitude with multiple regression analyses. Moreover, because much remains to be learned about whether these associations are indirectly influenced by different personal or social variables, the third goal was to explore the role of emotional intelligence as a potential mediational mechanism implicated in the relationship between personality traits and gratitude. Participants, Methods and Data Collection The sample consisted of 712 Polish respondents who were aged between 17 and 88. Most of them were women (64.3%). They answered questionnaires concerning their personality traits, emotional intelligence, and gratitude. The research was conducted using the paper-and-pencil method through convenience sampling. Results The results showed that both gratitude and emotional intelligence correlated positively and significantly with extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Gratitude and emotional intelligence correlated negatively and significantly with neuroticism. The personality predictor of gratitude with the highest and positive standardized regression value was agreeableness, followed by openness to experience and extraversion. Neuroticism had a negative impact on gratitude. Conscientiousness was the only statistically insignificant predictor in the tested multiple regression model. Moreover, emotional intelligence mediated the relationship between four dimensions of personality (extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) and gratitude and acted as a suppressor between neuroticism and gratitude. Conclusion The current study broadens our comprehension of the interaction among personality traits, emotional intelligence, and a grateful disposition. Moreover, it imparts a noteworthy foundation not only for the mediatory role of emotional intelligence between four dimensions of personality and gratitude but also for its suppressor effect between neuroticism and being grateful.

Downstream indirect reciprocity (DIR) is a behavior taking the form of a reaction to an individual’s kindness or reluctance towards a third party. The literature shows that the concept of DIR may be understood in many different systems of assessing an individual’s social exchange, retributive justice, religious belief systems, rudimentary moral systems, and general philosophical treatment, as well as from a natural selection and evolutionary approach. Given the importance of an empirically based examination of DIR, the aim of the current research carried out through Studies 1–5 was fourfold: (a) develop a reliable and psychometrically sound Downstream Indirect Reciprocity Scale (DIRS); (b) establish and examine the factor structure of the DIRS and its statistical properties, using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (Study 1); (c) assess the relationship between the observed measures and latency factor of DIR through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (Studies 2–5); (d) measure the internal consistency and nomological validity (Studies 2–5). Although the first assumption consisted in constructing a questionnaire that would measure both positive and negative aspects of downstream reciprocity, the outcomes of the EFA and CFA confirmed the final version of the scale that assesses only the positive dimension of DIR (Positive Downstream Indirect Reciprocity Scale; PoDIRS-6). In fact, the EFA showed the one factor structure of the new measure, and the findings of the CFAs indicated that it meets the criteria for good fit. All of the analyses conducted defined a preliminary nomological network of convergent constructs (gratitude, life satisfaction, religiosity, and moral concerns). The PoDIRS-6 is the first scale designed to assess a set of ideas that are expressed in the belief that an individual who has done something good might get help from other people in the future. It is encouraged that a questionnaire be developed which will measure the belief that human actions can be punished or reproved when they are negative and morally bad (Negative Downstream Indirect Reciprocity Scale; NeDIRS).