The Relationship between Personality Types, Learning Styles, Motivation, Self-esteem and Academic Stress among Distance Learners in Ibadan Study Center

The study investigated the relationship between personality types, learning styles, motivation, self-esteem and academic stress among the distance learners of Ibadan Study Centre. Six hundred (600) respondents were purposively selected from four randomly selected faculties. The age range of the respondents was between 25 and 46 years with a mean age of 35.5 and SD = 4.2. Three research questions were raised and answered in this study. Five instruments were utilized to elicit information from the respondents. The instruments include: Student Academic Stress Scale; Multi-dimensional Personality Inventory; Self-esteem Scale; Self-report Situational Motivational Scale and Learning Style Scale. The data collected were analyzed using Pearsons Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression analysis. The results obtained revealed that there were significant correlations among the independent variables. The independent variables (agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extroversion, general intelligence, learning style, motivation and self-esteem) made joint contribution to the prediction of academic stress among the distance learners. The result also shows that self-esteem made the most potent contribution to the prediction of academic stress among the respondents. The implication of this is that learners with high self-esteem and appropriate learning skills are not prone to academic stress because they must have overcome stress producing stimuli through adequate preparation.