Personality Factors For Promoting Psychological Well-Being Among Adolescents in Urban and Rural Areas of Bihar

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate personality factors and psychological well-being among rural and urban adolescents. The study focused on five major personality dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. It also examined differences in personality factors and psychological well-being between rural and urban adolescents and explored the relationships between personality dimensions and psychological well-being. The sample consisted of 100 adolescents, including 50 rural and 50 urban participants. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and Pearson’s product–moment correlation coefficient. The findings revealed significant rural–urban differences in personality factors. Rural adolescents obtained higher mean scores in extraversion and openness to experience, whereas urban adolescents obtained higher mean scores in neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The differences in neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness were significant at the .01 level, while the difference in conscientiousness was significant at the .05 level. The results also indicated a significant difference in psychological well-being between rural and urban adolescents. Urban adolescents obtained a higher mean score (88.24) than rural adolescents (79.20), with the difference being significant at the .05 level. Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between extraversion and psychological well-being (r = .865) and a positive relationship with openness to experience (r = .644). Conscientiousness showed a weak positive correlation (r = .204), whereas neuroticism (r = −.688) and agreeableness (r = −.732) showed negative correlations with psychological well-being. The negative relationship involving agreeableness requires further verification and investigation. The study highlights the relevance of personality characteristics to understanding psychological well-being during adolescence. The findings may help educators, parents, and school counsellors develop appropriate strategies to support adolescents’ emotional and psychological development. However, the results should be interpreted within the limitations of the sample and correlational research design. Further studies using larger samples and longitudinal approaches are recommended.