The Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors of Negative Emotional States in University Students in Taiwan

Shih-Wei Yang and Malcolm Koo ()
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Shih-Wei Yang: Department of Education, National Chiayi University, Chiayi City 600355, Taiwan
Malcolm Koo: Graduate Institute of Long-Term Care, Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology, Hualien City 970302, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-10

Abstract: Negative emotional states, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, are prevalent in university students. Personality traits have been shown to be associated with a wide range of behaviors in students, such as academic motivation, achievement, and social well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the Big Five personality traits and negative emotion states in university students in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 580 university students in Taiwan. Negative emotional states were evaluated using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and the Big Five personality traits were measured using the 48-item Big Five Inventory. A hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to assess the factors associated with DASS-21 scores. Neuroticism (standardized beta [std. β] = 0.45, p < 0.001) and openness (std. β = 0.12, p = 0.003) were significantly associated with DASS-21 scores, while agreeableness (std. β = −0.10, p = 0.007) was significantly and inversely associated with DASS-21 scores. Personality traits could be used to identify students at risk of negative emotional states and to undertake appropriate preventive strategies.

Keywords: emotion; stress; anxiety; depression; personality; students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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