Humor styles, culture-related personality, well-being, and family adjustment among Armenians in Lebanon

Abstract

This research examined the structure and correlates of an Armenian translation of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ; Martin et al. 2003) among a community sample of ethnic Armenians residing in Lebanon. Four humor factors were found, as in the original Canadian samples: affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor. Scale reliabilities were generally acceptable, and inter-correlations among the scales were low. Armenian-Lebanese participants, as compared to Canadian and Belgian norms, obtained significantly lower scores on all four humor scales. Compared to females, males reported significantly more use of all four styles of humor, particularly aggressive and self-defeating humor. Humor styles correlated differentially, and generally as predicted, with perceived health, psychological well-being, and family adjustment, although they were unrelated to depression. Higher scores on aggressive humor related to higher vertical individualism and lower horizontal and vertical collectivism. Overall, the findings provide cross-cultural support for the theoretical structure and usefulness of the HSQ and represent an initial step in the study of humor among Armenians.