Personality traits and perceived stress among Albanian youth

by, Odeta Cacaj, Erika Melonashi

Abstract

Background Individual characteristics such as personality traits are particularly relevant in understanding stress appraisal. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the associations between Big Five personality traits and perceived stress among Albanian young adults. Methodology Participants were 255 Albanian young adults (33.8% men and 66.2% women) aged between 20 and 35 years old. The measuring instruments were the Brief Big Five Inventory (BFI) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Findings Results showed that personality traits including neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness and agreeableness were significantly correlated to perceived stress. The regression model with stress as the dependent variable, and age, gender and the five personality traits as independent variables, accounted for 33.7% of the variance in perceived stress levels. However only the trait of neuroticism was a significant predictor in the model. These results have important implications in terms of stress management programs among Albanian youth.