A INVESTIGATION ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND COPING STYLES

Abstract

Personality is a concept which is being discussed for years. With this concept, questions like “Why are people so different from each other?”, “Why do each people respond differently against same situation?” have been trying to answered. Each feature that belong and define a person, is a guide to understand and define that person. In this context, personality is a term that contains a person’s attitude, gifts, style, exterior look and adaptation to environment. Personality is a distinctive and harmonious whole. However, there may be conditions that disrupts this harmony. Today’s world’s fast changes and developments are causing irresistable changes in people’s personalities. While changing social structure is bringing innovations and convenience in many areas, at the same time it is pushing people into a fight for survival. During this fight people may encounter with stressful situations. Reactions against these stressful situations varies from person to person. The purpose of this study is to determine people’s personality characteristics, differences and their overcome strategies against stressful situations that they encounter. In this study, how people’s personality charactheristics are affecting their overcome strategies against stressful situations has been discussed. The research sample consists of 400 students of Mersin Toros University Vocational High School. “Coping Strategies Inventory” (developed by Folkman and Lazarus and translated to Turkish by Şahin and Durak) and “The Big Five Inentory” (developed by John, Donahue and Kentle) have been used as measurement tools.