Big five personality and eating disorder symptoms among students in a Malaysian public university: a cross- sectional study

Abstract

Eating disorders are arising in Malaysia at alarming rate, yet studies examining eating behaviour such as eating disorder symptoms in Malaysia is still at infancy stage. Since personality traits can affect an individual’s health-related behaviour, it is crucial to explore its association with eating disorder symptoms. This study explores the link between the Big Five Personality and eating disorder symptoms among university students at a Malaysian public university. A total of 139 respondents participated in this crosssectional study. Big Five Inventory (BFI) was employed to measure personality traits, while an abbreviated 26-item version of Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) was used to examine eating disorder symptoms. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 22.0. The findings revealed that there is a weak positive association between neuroticism and eating disorder symptoms (r=0.266, p<0.01). a weak negative association was recorded for agreeableness and eating disorder symptoms (r= -0.228, p<0.01) and between conscientiousness and eating disorder symptoms (r= -0.18, p<0.05). No significant association was recorded for extraversion (r= -0.008, p=0.926) and openness to experience (r= -0.008, p=0.890) with eating disorder symptoms among the university students. This research concludes that several but not all components of the Big five personality are associated with eating disorders symptoms among university students.