Relationship of Patience to Personality, Mental Health and life Satisfaction

The present study aimed to examine the relationships of patience with life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, mental health, and personality factors, among a group of Iranian university students. In doing so, 252 university students (including 123 female and 129 male) filled out “the 3-Factor Patience Scale”, “Satisfaction with Life Scale”, “General Health Questionnarie-12”, “Anxiety and Depression Scales”, and “Mini-International Personality Item Pool-Big Five”. Analysis of the data showed that the three types of patience (namely: Interpersonal, Life Hardship, and Daily Hassles patience), were positively associated with life satisfaction and the Big Five factors of personality, and negatively associated with depression, anxiety and psychological dysfunction. Patience showed moderate relationships with the Big Five, and after controlling for the Big Five, patience managed to explain additional unique variance in life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, and psychological dysfunction. A possible neurological substrate of patience has been discussed.