PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF A SAMPLE OF UNIVERSITY FRESHMEN AND FRESHWOMEN

Abstract

ABSTRACT Eight hundred and seventy University of Ibadan freshmen, consisting of 725 males and 145 females, were studied during their first few weeks in the university with the aim of assessing their social and personality characteristics. The following instruments were used: (1) A sixty-five item general questionnaire (GO) covering social- demographic factors, biographic and secondary school background, attitudes and other characteristics; (2) the Health Opinion Survey; and (3) Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Most subjects had parents who were either Yoruba or Ibo and were predominantly Christians. The parents of the majority of the students were either Illiterate or had little formal education. Half of the subjects came from polygamous homes. Although about two thirds of the students had consulted a doctor during the past 12 months, most subjects reported their current health to be good or excellent. While most of the students reported that they had Intimate friends, they had more difficulty making friends with members of the opposite sex than with persons of the same sex as themselves. The mean scores on the scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPP) were broadly similar to results obtained with samples of British subjects and Nigerian soldiers, although some Important differences from British data could be found.

Statistical analysis demonstrated interesting relationships between some of the variables on the general questionnaire. Self¬-assessed recent mental health (SMH) was found significantly associated with (1) whether or not subjects had problems to discuss with a doctor; (2) recent physical health; (3) neuroticism score on the EPQ. Factor analysis of the General Questionnaire yielded 17 factors which accounted for 50.2 per cent of the variance on the GO. Eight of the factors were related to the students' family background, three with health, two with Interpersonal relationships, and the rest with miscellaneous characteristics of the subjects. The GO-derived factors arc, as a group, rather weak predictors of scores on the Health Opinion Survey. A few of the factors are good predictors of self-assessed mental health and Extraversionscores of the EPQ, but the 17 factors are as a group not good predictors of either self-assessed mental health or extraversion. The seventeen factors are fairly weak predictors of Neuroticismscores on the EPO. The first follow-up study which took place 6 months after the Initial study covered a representative sample, that Is one third, of the students who took part in the Initial study. Current self-assessed physical and mental health and history of doctor consultation 12 months prior to admission to the university (all 3 variables were from the Initial study) were not significantly related to whether or not the university health center was visited for treatment. However, all 3 variables except SWI were significantly associated with general

neurotic symptom as measured in the first follow-up study. A follow-up study, involving one third of the subjects occurred 15 months after the onset of the initial study. The subjects were randomly selected from the initial sample of 870 students. Scores obtained on a list of 10 common neurotic symptoms were significantly associated with the following initial study variables: (a) self-¬assessed recent physical health; (b) history of consulting a doctor 12 months prior to university admission; (c) self-assessed recent mental health. Desire to see a doctor without actually seeingone aa reported at the follow-up study was also significantly associated with the same 3 variables. A clinical Interview of each member of a randomly selected sub¬sample of 30 students was carried out 26 months after the onset of the Initial study. The main findings were that the subjects resembled United States students studied with similar techniques in their interests, aspirations, object relations and some other respects. In general, the relation between past health history (I.e. before coming to the university) and health history in the university Is consistent with the findings of other workers. The results are discussed in terms of their Implications for personality development; provision of student mental health facilities in the university; adaptation of students to university life and academic achievement; and the value of self-assessment as an Index of mental health. Methodological implications and limitations of the study arc also discussed.