Abstract:
This study investigated the relationship between personality traits and students' disruptive behaviour in Obio-Akpor Local Government area in Rivers State. Two research questions and the null hypotheses guided the conduct of the study. Correlational research design was used for the study. The population of the study is 6342 senior secondary school students. A sample of 420 students in government schools in Obio-Akpor was drawn from the population using simple random sampling technique. Two instruments named Big Five Personality Assessment Scale (BFPAS) and Disruptive Behaviour Assessment Scale (DBS) were used for data collection. Multiple regression associated with t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses respectively. The analyses of hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
The study found that personality traits such as Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness (NEOAC) when taken together are related to students' disruptive behaviour. When the personality traits were considered independently, only the personality traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness are significantly related to students' disruptive behaviour.
Based on the findings, the study recommends that the government should, as a matter of urgency, engage the services of guidance counsellors in the secondary schools to assist students with personality traits that are vulnerable to disruptive tendencies.
