THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY TRAITS AND ANXIOUSNESS

Anxiety is a subjectively perceived negative feeling, which may be experienced by many students throughout their study. It is usually affected by many factors and often has a negative impact on the functioning of an individual. The objective of this study is to analyse the relationship between anxiousness and personality traits among students of teacher training courses. The Ten Item Personality Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used. The research sample consisted of 343 university students (41 males, 302 females). The results for the whole sample showed a significant correlation between anxiousness and all personality traits (r = -.116 to -.473). The strongest relationships were observed in emotional stability (r = -. 473) and openness to experience (r = -.427). Males proved significant correlations in terms of extraversion, emotional stability, and openness to experience (r =.024 to -.638). Openness to experience significantly predicted the level of anxiousness (LoA). Females showed significant correlations in terms of all personality traits (r = -.129 to -.465). Emotional stability and openness to experience significantly predicted the LoA. Regarding the type of the study, full-time students showed significant correlations in terms of all personality traits except conscientiousness (r = .100 to -.520). Emotional stability and openness to experience significantly predicted the LoA. Combined students showed significant correlations in terms of all personality traits (r = -.210 to -.367). Agreeableness and openness to experience significantly predicted the LoA. The observed strong relationships between personality and anxiousness emphasize the need for further investigation of this topic. (C) 2019 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK