Personality Traits as Predictors of Romantic Relationship Satisfaction among Dating University Students
Close, personal relationships are ubiquitous and a pervasive part of our everyday life. They are characterized by a “strong, frequent and diverse interdependence” that endures over time. The study tested if personality trait will significantly predict romantic relationship satisfaction among dating university students. A total of 298 participants comprising 158 female and 140 male, within the age range of 19 to 26 years, mean age of 23.54 and a standard deviation of 1.56. They were selected making use of simple random sampling techniques, from the population of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences, Enugu state University of Science and Technology, Agbani Campus, Enugu, Enugu State. Big five Inventory and General Relationship Satisfaction Scale were used in the study. Cross-sectional design was adopted while Hierarchical Multiple Regression was used to analyse the data. Results revealed that big five personality traits (extraversion) β = .03, t = .35, at P >.05 did not significantly predict romantic relationship satisfaction; while agreeableness, β = -.25, t = -2.21, at P < .05; conscientiousness, β = .33, t = 2.68, at P < .01; neuroticism, β = -.13, t = -2.15, at P < .05 and openness, β = .44, t = 6.76, at P < .01, significantly predicted romantic relationship satisfaction. The findings were discussed in view of literature reviewed and recommendations were made.