The Relative Contribution of the Big Five Personality Factors to Psychological Happiness among Undergraduate and Postgraduate University Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the relative contribution of the Big Five personality Factors (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) to psychological well-being, and to examine whether an interaction between age and these personality traits affects psychological well-being. The study sample consisted of 153 students, including 106 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Derna and 47 graduate students from the humanities and applied sciences programs at the University of Derna and the Libyan Academy, Derna branch. The instruments employed were the Big Five Personality Factors Scale (Costa & McCrae, 1992; translated by Al-Rubaie, 2014) and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (Argyle & Hills, 2002; translated by Al-Rubaie, 2014). The findings revealed that psychological well-being is significantly related to openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, whereas no statistically significant relationship was found with neuroticism or extraversion. Moreover, openness to experience and conscientiousness were significant predictors of psychological well-being. The study also found no significant interaction between the Big Five personality factors and age in influencing psychological well-being.