Love of Life: Role of Positive and Negative Traits among Egyptian Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The general objective of the current research was to develop a model of love of life (LOL) as a component of subjective well-being (SWB). The detailed aims of the present study were: (a) to estimate the LOL associations with SWB and negative variables, (b) to extract the main components of the study’s scales, (c) to explore gender differences, and (d) to explore the predictors of LOL. A sample of 309 Egyptian college students (141 men; 168 women) responded to the following scales: Love of Life, self-esteem, SWB, positive and negative affect, and suicidality. As predicted, LOL was associated with SWB, self-esteem, positive affect, happiness, life satisfaction (positively), and suicidality (negatively) in men and women, as well as with negative affect (negatively) in women only. A principal components analysis extracted two components in men and three in women, labeled: “Well-being versus distress” and “Positive traits” in men, and “Positive traits”, “Negative traits”, and “Health and happiness” in women. Significant predictors of LOL scores were the self-rating of happiness and positive affect in men, and positive affect, low suicidality, and happiness in women. Based on the associations, the extracted factors, and the predictors, the present results support the love of life model in college students based on one continuum: loving life versus negative variables. Key words: Love of life, Subjective well-being, Self-esteem, Positive affect, Negative affect, Suicidality, Egypt