Personality and mental health characteristics of Nigerian university students

Abstract

In this paper are reported some of the results of a 1976 study of 145 female and 725 male freshmen University of Ibadan students who were assessed with the Health Opinion Survey, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and a 65-item general questionnaire. A major aim of the study was to obtain data on the social, personality and mental health characteristics of the students. Over 6 % of subjects assessed their current mental health to be "fair" or "poor" as opposed to "good" or "excellent". There was no significant association between self-assessed mental health (SMH) and either sex or faculty of enrolment, but SMH had a significant relationship with Neuroticism, self-assessed current physical health and having problems to discuss with a doctor. These findings, along with the results of factor analysis of the general questionnaire, are discussed and their clinical, methodological and other implications commented upon.