The Effects of Mid-aged Women's Stress and Mental Toughness on Happiness Flourish: Conditional Indirect Effects of Personal Brand

This study aimed to examine the moderated mediation effect of personal brand on the relationship between stress, mental toughness, and happiness flourish in middle-aged women.Additionally, it sought to provide a happiness flourish enhancement model for mid-aged women by utilizing mental toughness and personal brand.Data were collected through an online survey conducted by a professional survey agency, targeting 225 women aged 40 to 49 across South Korea.The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and PROCESS macro 4.2, employing frequency analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and conditional indirect effects analysis.The results revealed the following.First, significant correlations were found among stress, mental toughness, personal brand, and happiness flourish.Stress was negatively correlated with mental toughness, personal brand, and happiness flourish, while mental toughness and personal brand were positively correlated with happiness flourish.In other words, higher stress levels were associated with lower mental toughness, personal brand, and happiness flourish, whereas higher mental toughness was associated with higher personal brand and happiness flourish.Second, the conditional indirect effect of stress on happiness flourishing through mental toughness was significant regardless of whether the personal brand was low, middle, or high.This indicates that personal brand moderated the mediating effect of mental toughness on the relationship between stress and happiness.Specifically, higher stress levels reduced mental toughness, lowering happiness flourish, but personal brand buffered this negative effect.These findings clarify the relationships and roles of stress, happiness flourish, and related variables in middle-aged women who experience significant physical, psychological, and social changes and emotional turmoil during this transitional period.The study provides theoretical evidence for new variables, such as personal brand and mental toughness, which have been relatively underexplored in prior research.Furthermore, the results serve as a theoretical foundation for developing programs to enhance happiness flourish in mid-aged women by leveraging mental toughness and personal brand.