Investigating the relationship between personality characteristics, self-control, and general health among the students of public and clinical psychology in Islamic Azad University of Ilam

Introduction: Mental health is a branch of science focused on promoting welfare, social welfare, and life health which is related to all periods (from birth to death) and aspects of life (family environment, school, university, appointment, and society). Personality is a collection of mental characteristics that consistently exists within individuals and influences their behaviors and thoughts. Self-control as one of the unique personality characteristics varies from one person to another. Materials and methods: The present study is a correlational descriptive study. The target population of this research includes all graduate students of public and clinical psychology studying in Islamic Azad University of Ilam during academic year of 93-94. According to statistics there were approximately 536 students in this field. Out of this number 224 students were selected through simple random sampling. Measurement instruments included: Tangney and Baumeister (2004) Self-Control Scale, NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and Goldberg General Health Questionnaire. For the analysis of findings of this study Kalmogorov–Smiranov test, correlation, and regression analysis were run through statistical software of SPSS. Results: Results of this research showed that personal characteristics and self-control predicted 86% of variance that is, significantly predicted the level of mental health among students. Results of correlation revealed significant relationship between self-control and mental health. In addition, there were significant relation between personality traits and self-control. In other words,   it can be said that personality characteristics have a substantial role in predicting mental health and there is also significant relationship between the variables under study. Conclusion: It can be said that self-control is one of the most important personality characteristics that influences individuals’ mental health.