Exploring the roles of openness to experience, emotions, and proficiency levels in bilingual students' happiness.

This article investigates how bilingual proficiency influences the relationships among personality trait openness to experience, emotions, and happiness in bilingual college students in the United States. Using survey data from 277 bilingual students, the study found that positive emotion fully mediates the relationship between openness to experience and happiness, while bilingual proficiency moderates the link between openness and emotions. Specifically, highly proficient bilinguals experience happiness primarily through positive emotions, whereas partial bilinguals' happiness is affected by both positive and negative emotions. These findings highlight the psychological pathways connecting language proficiency, personality, and emotional well-being, offering implications for positive language education and support programs tailored to bilingual learners' diverse needs.