Sex Differences in the Personality Dimensions and Mental Health

Abstract

The main aim of the present study was to explore the sex differences in the personality dimensions and mental health among undergraduates. The study comprised of 60 undergraduates, including 30 male students and 30 female students from various departments of Feroze Gandhi colleges, Rae-Bareli. The age range of the respondents was from 19 to 22 years with mean age 20.60 (SD=.91). Personality dimensions i.e. Neuroticism and Extraversion were measured by using Jalota and Kapoor’s (2000) Hindi version of Eysenck’s Maudsley Personality Inventory (M.P.I.). Mental health of the undergraduates’ was measured by using Pramod Kumar’s (1992) Mental Health Check-List. Descriptive statistics (Mean & SD), Pearson’s product moment coefficient correlation and t-test were calculated to analyze the data. The findings of correlation show that extraversion is linked with better mental health (r: .29; P<0.05). Younger students tend to exhibit higher levels of neuroticism (r: -.30; P<0.05). Female students too tend to exhibit higher levels of neuroticism (r: .29; P<0.05). Further, findings of t-test reveal that in two personality dimensions (i.e. neuroticism and extraversion) and mental health; only significant sex difference is observed in neuroticism (t: -2.33; P<0.05) where female students reported higher levels than male counterparts.