Personality and Mental Health among Lira University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Abstract COVID-19 pandemic is one of the 21st -century major health crises affecting the world. Due to the pandemic, education activities were disrupted and examinations were postponed. This could have far-reaching effects on the students both physically, socially, mentally, and emotionally. In this context, we conducted a cross-sectional study among undergraduate students at Lira University to assess whether there could be any relationship between their personality and mental health. A total of. Non-probability Volunteer and convenience sampling technique was used to select156 undergraduate students who participated in this study. Data was collected using a well-designed survey questionnaire and posted onto google form. Mental status was screened using the Mental Health Continuum Short Form while personality was screened using the Extraversion vs. Introversion Scale adapted from the Big Five Inventory. Both categorical and numerical data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Chi-square statistic was used to obtain the correlation between the variables. More than half, 55.77% of the participants were males, 42.95% were females while 1.28% did not disclose their gender. The results showed that 83.97% of the respondents had positive mental health, 14.74% had average mental health and 1.28% had poor mental health. The results showed that 88.46% were extroverts. Finally, the results revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between personality and mental health status. There is a need for mental health professionals to keep the mental health balance of students in the University. Counseling should also be planned along with online teaching. Besides, there is a need to understand the personality traits of students to deal with their mental health accordingly.