Happiness among undergraduates: what is the role of humour styles?

Hedonism theory and desire theory assumed that internal factors (humour styles) may explain happiness among undergraduates. In the current study, the assumption is tested among 226 undergraduates of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Ages of the participants were 18-40 years (M= 21.66 years, SD= 3.10). Two scales were used to collect data for the study: Subjective happiness scale (SHS) and humour styles questionnaire (HSQ). The study adopted correlation design and the hypothesis was tested with multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that humour styles; affiliative humour, self-enhancing humour and self-defeating humour significantly predicted happiness while aggressive humour did not. The outcome of the study suggested for the first time a framework for understanding the role of humour styles on happiness. It was suggested that affiliative, self-enhancing and self-defeating humour styles should be encouraged and included in the University’s programs as part of general studies, routine seminars, conferences and orientations of new students.