Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5559/di.24.2.03
Personality and Self-Perception of Physical and Emotional Health among First-Year University Students
Jasminka Bobić
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb
Selma Cvijetić
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb
Jelena Macan
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the four personality
traits: psychoticism (P), extraversion (E), neuroticism (N) and lie
tendencies (L) measured by the Eysenck Personality
Questionnaire, depression symptoms measured by the Zung
Depression Scale (ZDS) and self-perceived health-related well-
-being measured by SF-36 in a sample of 430 healthy first-year
university students of both sexes. We also wanted to determine
which personality variable best predicts depression symptoms
(ZDS) and well-being (SF-36). The obtained results showed that
students rated their health and health-related quality of life as
good, although they scored lower than same aged adults from
the general population. Women had significantly higher scores
on ZDS, N and L than men, while men scored higher on P and
six out of eight SF-36 scales. N, among all of the other
included personality variables, best predicts depression
symptoms on ZDS and self-perceived physical and emotional
health on SF-36. We also found that gender was not a
moderator in any of the personality traits in their influence on
well-being, but that N in females only adds significantly to the
expression of depression symptoms. We concluded that
personality plays an important role in subjective health-related
well-being together with objective life circumstances.
Keywords
personality; well-being; extraversion; neuroticism; SF-36
Hrčak ID:
144464
URI
Publication date:
1.9.2015.
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