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.

Introduction

Individuals may differ substantially in their levels of well-being as well as societies. On the other hand, there is no two individual that will react to the same situation the same way. Their reactions and responses to circumstances always differ as a result their person characteristics. Ryan and Deci [2001] referred to wellbeing as optimal functioning and experience. Well-being is understood as a state of health, happiness and/or prosperity. In a wider understanding, well-being is living a good life with which one is satisfied. Well-being and deprivation can be considered representing different sides of the same coin. Well-being is a state of being with others, where human needs are met, where one can act meaningfully to pursue one's goals, and where one enjoys a satisfactory quality of life. Well-being is most usefully thought of as the dynamic process that gives people a sense of how their lives are going through the interaction between their circumstances, activities and psychological resources or 'mental capital [Sarvimaki,2006]

Personality traits have an important feature that they reflect continuous distributions rather than distinct personality types. This means that when personality psychologists talk about personality traits of openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism they are not really talking about five distinct types of people who are completely and qualitatively different from one another. Instead, they are talking about people who score relatively low or relatively high along a continuous distribution. In fact, when personality psychologists measure traits like Extraversion, they typically find that most people score somewhere in the middle, with smaller numbers showing more extreme levels (Matthews, Deary, & Whiteman, 2003).

The concept of personality being a key determinant of several behavioural dispositions continues to thrive in behavioural research. According to MahmodAliloo, Nemati and Bamadirad,[2010] Personality as a psychological variant can affect all human behaviours at both personal and social levels. Roberts, Smith, Jackson and Edmonds [2009] stated that there certain personality traits that are more susceptible to certain health conditions than others and even when exposed to the same health threats, individuals respond differently to the experience The researches on personality have been coming up with different surprises many has shown that personality plays a vital role on some variable while others shows that personality do not play a role on some variable. The study by Ubagu, Okoli, Eze, et al [2023] on the impact of personality and loneliness on the mental health of undergraduates shows that personality does not influence the mental health of undergraduates.

However, Magee,and Blesanz [2019] stated that personality and wellbeing states dynamically influenced one another over time within the individuals and these associations were not generally moderated by dispositional traits or wellbeing. They concluded that behaviour and wellbeing are interconnected within the context of the Big Five model of personality. In the same direction, the study by Velicko and Jia [2019] showed that personality traits played central role in an individuals functioning. Also Aldridge and Gore [2016] who tested the associations of the Big Five personality traits with a large array of wellbeing variables, their findings shows that neuroticism is the strongest predictor for most of wellbeing variables followed by conscientiousness.

Research objective

To what extent does different personality traits (extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism) independently and jointly influence the general well-being (general health, anxiety, self-control, depression, vitality and positive well-being) of pregnant women in Benue State?

Research hypothesis

Personality traits (Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism) independently and jointly predicted the general well-being (general health, anxiety, self-control, depression, vitality and positive well-being) of pregnant women in Benue State.

Method

This study employed an ex-post-facto design. Ex-post-facto design studies are mainly concerned with describing events as they are without any manipulation being observed (Ali, 1996).

Participants

The participants of this study were pregnant women who are working and are married. The study consisted of 370 pregnant women drawn from three locations in Benue State. Distribution of respondents by locations indicated that 157(42.4%) were from Makurdi, 123(33.2%) were from Otukpo and 90(24.3%) were from Katsina Ala. Distribution of respondents by age indicated that 18-30years were 137(37%) while 31years and above were 233(63%). Distribution of respondents by educational level indicated that O΄level were 121(32.7%), OND/NCE were 107(28.9%), First degree/HND were 94(25.4%) while M.SC and above were 48(13%). Distribution of respondents by their tribes indicated that Tiv were 231(62.4%), Idoma were 80(21.6%) and others (un-indicated) were 59(15.9%). The distribution of respondents by their religion indicated that Christianity were 358(96.8%) while Islam were 12(3.2%). The distribution of respondents by the number of children they are having indicated that those having between 1 and 4 children were 296(80%) while those of 5 and above were 74(20%). Lastly, distribution of respondents by the type of job indicated that 190(51.4%) were in Civil Service while 180(48.6%) were in private sector.

Sampling Technique

A multi-staged sampling technique was used for this study. A stratified sampling technique was used to select one Local Government Area on each geo-political zone. Simple random sampling was used to select one hospital from each of the three geo-political Zones of Benue State. Thus, Comprehensive Health Centre Township KatsinaAla for Zone A, Federal Medical Centre Makurdi for Zone B, and Comprehensive Health Centre Otukpo for Zone C. Quota sampling was used to get the number to represent each hospital according to their respective numbers. For Federal Medical Centre which has a population of 804 pregnant women, 157 pregnant women were sampled. For Comprehensive Health Centre Otukpo which has a population of 626 pregnant women, 123 pregnant women were sampled. Lastly for Comprehensive Health Centre Township katsinaAla which has a population of 461 pregnant women, 90 pregnant women were sampled. The participants for this study were selected through purposive sampling technique. This is because it was convenient for the researcher and not all the pregnant women were willing. Moreover, it was not just any pregnant woman that was willing that was involved in the study but those pregnant women that are working aside their domestic responsibilities and are married. The researcher made use of several research assistants in collecting the data. These research assistants are people knowledgeable with the ethics and principles of research in psychology. The research assistants were trained on how to conduct the study, The researcher with his research assistants selected those women who are able and willing.

Instruments

Two(2) instruments were used for this study. They are as follows:

Personality Traits were assessed using the Big Five Inventory (BFI) (John, Donahue &Kentle, 1991). This is an instrument that assesses personality from a five dimensional perspective. The essence of the perspective is that personality can be resolved into five broad dimensions which are distinct from one another. The five dimensions of the BFI were: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness. The instrument is administered individually after establishing a rapport. It is a 44 item instrument that people respond to as they see themselves. It is a Likert-type Scale format ranging from 1= strongly disagree to 5= strongly agree. Direct scoring is used for all the items. The values of all the items in the subscale were added up to get score of each individual on the subscale. The reliability coefficient provided by John et.al. (1991) are Cronbach Alpha is .80 and 3-month test- retest is .85.

The General well-being was assessed with General wellbeing Questionnaire which was constructed by Dupuy in 1977. It is a self-administered questionnaire that focuses on one’s subjective feelings of psychological well-being and distress. The General well-being was assessed with General wellbeing Questionnaire which was constructed by Dupuy in 1977. It is a self-administered questionnaire that focuses on one’s subjective feelings of psychological well-being and distress

Pilot Study

To adopt the scale for the Nigerian sample, it was subjected to pilot study using 50 pregnant women from Myom hospital, in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State. For the pilot study a total number of 60 copies of the four instruments were administered to the participants using purposive sampling in which only willing pregnant women were giving the instruments. Only 50 copies were correctly filled and returned. The 50 copies were analysed. From the analysis, the reliability coefficient of the dimensions of the Big Five Personality Inventory are Neuroticism a Cronbach Alpha of .720, Conscientiousness a Cronbach Alpha of .800, Extraversion a Cronbach Alpha of .770, Agreeableness a CronbachAlpa of .750 and Openness a Cronbach Alpha of .750 while that of the General Wellbeing Questionnaire is a Cronbach Alpha of .887.

Procedure

The researcher personally visited the three selected Local Government Areas being Makurdi, Otukpo and Katsina-ala. He collected the data from Federal Medical Centre Makurdi, Comprehensive Health Centre Otukpo and Comprehensive Health Centre Township Katsina-Ala where he obtained permission from the authorities of the three institutions for the administration of the questionnaires. Prior to the administration of the questionnaires, informed consent of the pregnant women was obtained after which questionnaires were administered at the convenience of the pregnant women. Attached to each questionnaire was informed consent note. On the note it was clearly stated that participation in the study was voluntary, and that response to the questionnaires will be kept confidential and used solely for the purpose of research. Three research assistants assisted during the administration of the questionnaires. The assistants were trained on how to administer the questionnaires. The researcher and his assistants explained to the participants how to respond to the questionnaires. Also the participants were encouraged to make sure they answer all the questions. The questionnaires were collected after completion and were sorted out to ensure that only those that were fully and correctly completed were processed. Cases of improperly completed questionnaires were discarded. In order to observe ethical principles guiding research of this kind, respondents were debriefed adequately. This was achieved by appreciating their participation and assuring them of confidentiality.

Data analysis

Multiple Linear Regression was used to test the hypothesis

Result

Hypothesis: Personality traits independently and jointly predicted general wellbeing of pregnant women in Benue State. This hypothesis was tested using multiple linear regression and the result is presented in table below.

Table 1. Multiple Linear Regression Showing Independent and Joint Prediction General Wellbeing by Personality Traits of Pregnant Women in Benue State.

DV Variables R R2 β F t Sig

Constant .228 .052 3.532 2.276 .004Overall DV Openness -.113 -1.635 .103 Extraversion .087 1.463 .144 Agreeableness .089 1.624 .105 Conscientiousness -.010 -.153 .879 Neuroticism .138 2.349 .019 Constant .268 .072 4.997 1.757 .080General health Openness -.081 -1.185 .237 Extraversion .043 .727 .468 Agreeableness .033 .605 .546 Conscientiousness -.063 -.936 .350 Neuroticism .230 3.941 .000 Constant .254 .065 4.451 3.952 .000Anxiety Openness -.052 -.758 .449 Extraversion .098 1.659 .098 Agreeableness -.077 -1.409 .160 Conscientiousness -.151 -2.234 .026 Neuroticism .134 2.282 .023 Constant .207 .043 2.785 3.396 .015Self-control Openness -.160 -2.293 .022 Extraversion .146 2.458 .015 Agreeableness .099 1.795 .074 Conscientiousness .019 .279 .780 Neuroticism -.037 -.622 .535 Constant .233 .054 3.701 .291 .003Depression Openness -.080 -1.157 .248 Extraversion -.004 -.063 .949 Agreeableness .156 2.848 .005Conscientiousnes .124 1.824 .069 Neuroticism .117 1.985 .048 Constant .219 .048 3.248 2.826 .007Vitality Openness -.107 -1.543 .124 Extraversion -.060 -1.016 .310 Agreeableness .151 2.754 .006 Conscientiousness -.054 -.054 -.792 Neuroticism .065 1.106 .269 Constant .345 .119 8.722 -.924 .356Positive Openness -.086 -1.283 .200 wellbeing Extraversion .227 3.977 .000 Agreeableness .079 1.499 .134 Conscientiousness .071 1.081 .281 Neuroticism .174 3.072 .002

The result in table above indicated that personality traits significantly predicted general wellbeing among pregnant women [F (5,327) = 3.532, P<.05. The result further indicated that 5.2% of the total variance in general wellbeing among pregnant women was been accounted for jointly by personality traits. Independently, only neuroticism (β= .138, P<.05) that significantly and positively contributed to general wellbeing among pregnant women in Benue state, while, openness (β= -.113, P>.05), extraversion (β=.087, P>.05), agreeableness (β=.089, P>.05) and conscientiousness (β= -.010, P>.05) did not make significant contribution to general wellbeing of pregnant women.

Personality traits was further explored on the dimensions of wellbeing and it was found that personality traits significantly did not significantly predicted general health among pregnant women [F (5,327) = 4.997, P>.05]. On their individual contribution, only neuroticism (β = .230, P<.01) significantly and positively contributed to general health of pregnant women, openness (β = -.081, P>.05), extraversion (β = .043, P>.05), agreeableness (β =.033, P>.05) and conscientiousness (β = -.063, P>.05) did not contributed significantly to the model. Based on this finding, hypothesis two (A) was confirmed for neuroticism.

The result in table above also shows that personality traits significantly predicted anxiety among pregnant women in Benue State [F (5,327) = 3.952, P<.01]. Further observation shows that personality traits accounted for 6.5% of the variance in wellbeing of pregnant women. Independently, conscientiousness (β = -.151, P<.05) negatively contributed to the model while, neuroticism (β= .134, P<.05) made significant and positive contribution to the anxiety, on the other hand, openness (β = -.052, P>.05), extraversion (β = .098, P>.05) and agreeableness (β = -..077, P>.05) did not make significant contribution to anxiety among pregnant women. With this result, hypothesis one (B) was confirmed for conscientiousness and neuroticism.

The result in table above also provided result to show that personality traits significantly predicted self-control among pregnant women [F (5,327) = 2.785, P<.05]. The result also indicated that personality traits accounted for 4.3% of the variance in wellbeing among pregnant in Benue State. Individually, only openness (β = -.160, P<.05), significantly and negatively predicted self-control and extraversion (β = .146, P<.05) significantly and positively predicted self-control while agreeableness (β = .099, P>.05), conscientiousness (β = .019, P>.05) and neuroticism (β = -.037, P>.05) did not make any significant contribution to the model. Based on this finding, hypothesis two (C) was confirmed for openness and extraversion.

The table also revealed that personality traits did not significantly predicted depression among pregnant women [F (5,327) = 3.701, P>.05]. However, independently, agreeableness (β = .156, P<.05) and neuroticism (β = .117, P<.05) significantly predicted depression among pregnant women, while openness (β = -.080, P>.05), extraversion (β = -.004, P>.05) and conscientiousness (β = .124, P>.05) did not make significant contribution to the dimension. Based on this result, hypothesis two (D) was confirmed for agreeableness and neuroticism.

The table also provided result which indicated that personality traits significantly predicted vitality among pregnant women [F (5, 327) = 3.248, P<.05]. The result also indicated that personality traits accounted for 4.8% of the variance in vitality among pregnant women. Independently, agreeableness (β = .151, P<.05) made significant and positive contribution to vitality while openness (β = -.107, P>.0), extraversion (β = -.060, P.05), conscientiousness (β = -.054, P>.05) and neuroticism (β = .065, P>.05) did not contributed significantly to the model. Based on this result, hypothesis two (E) was confirmed for agreeableness.

The table revealed that personality traits did not significantly predicted positive wellbeing among pregnant women [F (5,327) = 8.722, P>.05]. Individually, only extraversion (β = .227, P<.01) and neuroticism (β = .174, P<.05) significantly and positively predicted positive wellbeing among pregnant women. While openness (β = -.086, P>.05), agreeableness (β = -.079, P>.05) and conscientiousness (β = .071, P>.05) did not significantly contributed to the model. With this result, hypothesis two (F) was confirmed only for extraversion and neuroticism.

Discussion

The hypothesis states that personality traits will independently and jointly predict the general well-being of pregnant women in Benue state. Result indicated that personality traits jointly predicted the general well-being of pregnant women in Benue state while independently it is only neuroticism that significantly and positively contributed to the general well-being of pregnant women in Benue state. Openness to experience, Agreeableness, Extraversion and Conscientiousness did not make significant independent contribution to the general well-being of pregnant women in Benue State. The finding is in agreement with the study by Bello [2016] who found that personality traits [openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism] jointly significantly predict psychological wellbeing of secondary school adolescent in Ede, however it was neuroticism that independently significantly predicts the psychological wellbeing of those students.

Furthermore, this finding is also in agreement with other researches. Mobarakehet.al (2015), found a significant relationship between adolescent personality traits and psychological well-being with neuroticism having a negative significant relationship while openness to experience and Conscientiousness do not have any significant relationship. Aldridge and Gore (2016), found that neuroticism was the strongest predictor for most of the well-being variables while the second predictor among students and employees were conscientiousness but for parents it was agreeableness. Asude (2011), also found that neuroticism was a negative predictor of subjective well-being while openness to experience and agreeableness do not contribute to well-being among undergraduates in Turkey. Marzuki (2013), found that openness to experience and conscientiousness to be significant predictors of well-being among lecturers followed by extraversion.

Meanwhile, from previous research findings it is well established that neuroticism has a negative influence on well-being but regarding other traits, there has not been consistent findings. For different group of people, different personality traits predict their well-being as we see from Marzuki (2013), among lecturers was openness to experience and conscientiousness while Asude (2011), among undergraduates openness to experience and agreeableness do not contribute. .

Furthermore, the study by Dzer, Atsehe, and Tomen [2021] on personality traits and stress as predictors of psychological wellbeing among students in schools of Nursing and Midwifery makurdi, found that different dimensions of personality traits predicted different domains of psychological wellbeing. Their findings shows that conscientiousness, openness to experience and neuroticism predicted psychological wellbeing [autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, and positive relation with others. However, conscientiousness, openness to experience, neuroticism and agreeableness predicted psychological wellbeing [purpose in life] while only openness to experience predicted psychological wellbeing [self acceptance]. In the same way, in this study, on the dimension of well-being, personality traits predicted general health with only neuroticism making a significant and positive contribution to general health. That is the high the neuroticism level the better the general health of pregnant women in Benue State, while openness, extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness did not make any significant contribution.

On the other hand, on the dimension of anxiety, personality traits significantly predicted it. Meanwhile, conscientiousness made a negative contribution. That is the less conscientious one is the higher the anxiety level. But, neuroticism made a positive contribution, which means the more the individual tends to the trait of neuroticism the higher the level of anxiety. Openness, agreeableness and extraversion did not make any significant contribution.

On the dimension of self-control, personality traits significantly predicted it. Openness made a negative contribution to self control. That is as the individual tends to be more open to new experience their self-control reduces. Extraversion made a positive contribution to self-control. That is as the individual tends to more extroversion his/her self-control increase. Agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism did not make any significant contribution.

Furthermore, personality traits significantly predicted vitality among pregnant women. Only agreeableness made a significant and positive contribution to vitality. That is, as the individual tends to be more agreeable, the more vigour they possess. All other traits did not make significant contribution to the model.

Meanwhile, personality traits did not predict positive well-being among pregnant women. But extraversion and neuroticism significantly and positively predicted positive well-being. The more extraverted and neurotic individuals are the better their positive well-being. Also all other traits did not make significant contribution to positive well-being.

On the whole, different traits influences different aspect of well-being, for example neuroticism made positive contributions to general health, anxiety and positive well-being. It may sound strange how it is possible. However, looking back to how neurotic people behavior, they tend to be emotionally unstable and may develop psychological disorder. This behaviour may serve as a booster to their health as they use it to release undue tension in their systems. Neuroticism did not predict depression, self-control and vitality whereas some other traits did. It is therefore correct to say that personality traits may influence different aspect of one’s life depending on what the individual has gone through in the past and the persons present experiences.

Implication of the Study

The findings of this study have a lot of implications as regards the general wellbeing of pregnant women. There are several empirical evidences which support that personality traits can predict the general wellbeing of individuals. A serious implication as regards the general well-being of pregnant women is that pregnant women who are high on neuroticism have the tendency of having a better general well-being. Therefore, pregnant women should be free to express their emotions anywhere anytime, because trying to suppress their emotions may have a negative effect on them but expressing it enhances their well-being. More so, people staying around pregnant women should understand them during pregnancy when they express their emotions anywhere and anyhow,being in the knowledge that that will help them have better wellbeing.

Conclusion

The study looked at personality traits as correlates of general wellbeing of pregnant women. The findings have revealed that personalities of pregnant women are very crucial during pregnancy. Since the wellbeing of the mother to a large extent affect the wellbeing of the unborn child, it becomes necessary that every pregnant woman should carry out personality assessment to be aware of their personality and be properly guided during pregnancy.

Compliance to Ethical Standards; The entire participants filled out a consent form to declare their free will and interest in participating

Conflict of interest. All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest

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