Do neuroticism and extraversion explain the negative association between self-concealment and subjective well-being?

The present investigation empirically examined if the negative association between self-concealment and subjective well-being is spurious because it results from the associations of both variables with their common causes neuroticism and extraversion. We concluded from applying structural equation modeling to the data obtained from two independent student samples that neuroticism, but not extraversion, explains part of the negative association between self-concealment and subjective well-being. More than 60% of the negative association between self-concealment and subjective well-being could not be explained by Neuroticism. Implications of our findings for both research and clinical therapy are discussed. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.