Psychological empowerment and its relation to the personality traits of Saudi university students

Abstract

This study explores the psychological empowerment of students at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University and the differences by specialization and study level. It also attempts to identify if dimensions of psychological empowerment predict personality traits. The study followed a descriptive and correlational design and used two scales to collect data on the participants’ psychological empowerment and personality traits. The two scales were administered to a stratified random sample of 202 female students from Sattam bin Abdulaziz University. Means, standard deviations, the t-test for independent samples, and regression analysis were used to answer the research questions. The results revealed that the students had a high level of psychological empowerment. There were no statistically significant differences by study level in all dimensions of psychological empowerment, except human relations and the total score. The differences were in favor of the seventh-level students. Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences by specialization in all dimensions, except human relations and the total score. These differences were in favor of arts students. The regression analysis revealed that psychological empowerment, particularly the dimensions of goal internalization and human relations, could predict personality traits. It is recommended that psychological empowerment dimensions that contribute to positive personality traits be targeted in training and academic counseling services provided to students.