Personality Traits as Correlates of the General Well-being of Pregnant Women

Abstract

Different individuals respond to the same event differently. This study examined personality traits as correlates of general well-being of pregnant women in Benue State. An ex-post-facto design was used with 370 pregnant women sampled from three geo-political zones of Benue State, Makurdi 157(42.4%), Otukpo 123(33.2%) and Katsina-Ala 90(24.3%) through simple random sampling technique. Their age ranged between 18 and 43 years, with mean age of 1.63 and standard deviation of 0.48. Two instruments were used for data collection namely; Big Five Personality Inventory and General Well-being Questionnaire. One hypothesis was generated and tested using regression analysis. The result showed that personality traits jointly predicted the general well-being of pregnant women [F (5,327) = 3.532, P<.05], while only neuroticism positively predicted the general well-being of pregnant women (β= .138, P<.05). On the dimensions of general well-being, personality traits predicted anxiety [F (5,327) = 3.952, P<.01], self-control [F (5,327) = 2.785, P<.05], and vitality [F (5, 327) = 3.248, P<.05], but failed to predict general health [F (5,327) = 4.997, P>.05], depression [F (5,327) = 3.701, P>.05], and positive well-being [F (5,327) = 8.722, P>.05] among pregnant women in Benue State. Conclusively, pregnant women’s personal characteristics can play a role in the general well-being with neuroticism making a positive contribution in Benue State. Based on these findings, it was recommended that emotional outburst and uncontrolled impulses of women during pregnancy should be condoned for that may be a way of releasing inner tensions that might be harmful to their health.