EFFECT OF GENDER AND LOCUS OF CONTROL ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING OF DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN.


EFFECT OF GENDER AND LOCUS OF CONTROL ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING OF DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN.

 

ABSTRACT

The study examined the effects of gender and locus of control on psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

It geared towards exploring some predicting variables of gender and locus control on psychology wellbeing among distance learning universities in Nigeria. 500 distance learning students from university of Ibadan, which comprises of 250 males and 250 females from different faculty completed the questionnaire pack of Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale, and Ryff’s Psychological Wellbeing Scale. Results showed that psychology wellbeing and gender use are positively and insignificantly related (r=0.53; p>0.05); psychology wellbeing and locus of control use are positively and significantly related (r=0.22; p<0.05); psychology wellbeing and gender/locus of control use are positively and significantly related.

Findings were discussed and relevant recommendations were made for further studies.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

Approval Page    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

Declaration    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

Dedication    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

Acknowledgement    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

Abstract    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

Table of Contents    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background of the Study    -    -    -    -    -   

1.2    Statement of General Problem    -    -    -    -   

1.3    Objective of the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -   

1.4    Research Questions    -    -    -    -    -    -   

1.5    Significance of the Study    -    -    -    -    -   

1.6    Scope of the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -   

1.7    Definition of Terms    -    -    -    -    -    -   

CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1    Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

2.2    Theoretical Framework    -    -    -    -    -   

2.3    Conceptual Framework    -    -    -    -    -   

2.4    Empirical Review    -    -    -    -    -    -   

CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1    Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

3.2    Research Design    -    -    -    -    -    -   

3.3    Population of Study    -    -    -    -    -    -   

3.4    Sample size and Sampling Techniques    -    -    -   

3.5    Method of Data Collection    -    -    -    -    -   

3.6    Research Instrument

3.7    Validity of the Instrument    -    -    -    -    -   

3.8    Reliability of the Instrument    -    -    -    -   

3.9    Sampling Method    -    -    -    -    -    -   

CHAPTER FOUR – DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1    Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

4.2    Data Presentation and Analysis    -    -    -    -   

4.3    Testing Hypothesis    -    -    -    -    -    -   

CHAPTER FIVE – SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1    Summary    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

5.2    Conclusion    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

5.3    Recommendations    -    -    -    -    -    -   

    References -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   

Appendix    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 1.1    BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Locus of control is a personality construct developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1966, which refers to an individual’s perception of the locus of events as determined internally by his or her behaviour versus fate, luck or external circumstances (Ziegler, 2006). It is a belief about whether the outcomes of individual’s action are contingent on what we do or on events outside our personal control. Locus of control is equally the degree to which individuals believe that things that happen to them are due to internal versus external factors. These beliefs are rooted in individual’s actions and behavior.

Locus of control plays a major role in one’s perception of situation and possible reactions on what is happening or should be happening. This has the ability of influencing one’s reactions to situations that are considered unacceptable. Individuals with internal locus of control believe that they can influence the outcomes of their lives. They also attribute their achievements in life to their skills, abilities and knowledge. They take pride in good outcomes and feel disappointed in bad outcomes (Bassey & Ezeh, 2005). A person with dominant external locus of control is convinced that anything that happens is the result of fate, luck or external powers and these believe often cause feelings of anger, frustration, depression and aggression (Swart, 2004).

Psychological wellbeing refers to how life goes for a particular person. It is a cognitive judgmental process which gives an evaluation of a person’s life satisfaction according to his chosen criteria (Shin, 2012). This judgment of how satisfied an individual is with his state of affairs is based on comparison with a standard he sets for himself (Diener, 1984).

The ability of a student to successfully transform his learning to strength to achieve this intention and have an improved quality of life is dependent on his resolution and his ability to adopt a system that harmonizes a relationship between his internal and external self and environment facilities that are made available within his learning context. In other words, it is germane that the learner should be accustomed to factors that could hinder such achievement and make conscious effort to effectively blend them to his advantage despite the challenges that he may encounter in his quest to do so because the extent to which a learner succeeds in his academics has important implications on his psychological success. (Bouchey, etal 2010).

Scholars like Nevetuah (2008) opined that although everyone has an opinion about their psychological wellbeing but no one knows precisely what it means in general. In consonance with this, Shin (2012) added that this individualistic opinion of psychological wellbeing might even be an “idiosyncratic mysteries” which is conditioned in levels of variability in individuals. The concept was further corroborated by Lawton (1990), as involving a multi-dimensional evaluation of both intrapersonal and social normative criteria of an individual in the past, current and anticipated which he concluded is ultimately decided by his objective and subjective dimensions of his psychological well-being.

Early researchers inferred the psychological wellbeing of individuals through objective and subjective indicators with specific socially desirable responses to assess living conditions which may be in respect of the percentage of the unemployed labour force and crime rates. It may also be in terms of material well-being, health, productivity, intimacy, safety and emotional wellbeing. These indicators are satisfaction weighted by their importance to the individuals and also normative to a population or group (Cummins, 1997). Thus, where one individual may access his life as a whole by focusing on his employment status, another individual may focus his assessment on his relationships with family and friends.

The position of Cummins (1997) was supported by Bouchey, etal (2010) who proposed that the individual conceptualization of the psychological wellbeing depends on subjective evaluation, functional expression and emotional evaluation. Further related contributions by Swart (2004) who added as basic material needs are met, individuals move to a materialistic phase in which they are concerned with self-fulfillment and more attainment and concluded that psychological wellbeing should be considered on the basis of positive indicators like “ a basic satisfaction with oneself and one’s existence or life satisfaction”.

1.2                                        STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

For long, attention of researchers, psychotherapist, psychologists, clinicians and social workers have focused more on psychological wellbeing of individuals thereby paying less attention to its vital definite determinants such as locus of control and gender-related factors. This has however created a big service information gap on the psychological wellbeing experienced by individuals most especially students. However, very few researchers have evaluated the effect of gender and locus of control as predictors of psychological wellbeing of individuals. This problem necessitates the need for the study.

1.3                                     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY  

The objectives of the study are:

To examine the effect of gender on the psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

To examine the relationship between locus of control and psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

To examine the main and independent effect of gender and locus of control on the psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

1.4                           RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study attempts to provide satisfactory answers to the following research questions.

What is the effect of gender on the psychological wellbeing of distance learning students?

What is the nature of the relationship between locus of control and psychological wellbeing of distance learning students?

What are the main and independent effect of gender and locus of control on psychological wellbeing of distance learning students?

1.5                           RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Three (3) hypotheses were formulated based in the study based on the research questions.

H0:  Gender has no significant effect on the psychology wellbeing of distance learning students.

H1: Gender has significant effect on the psychology wellbeing of distance learning students. .

H0:  There is no significant relationship between locus of control and psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

H1:  There is significant relationship between locus of control and psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

H0: Gender and locus of control have no main and independent effect on the psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

H1: Gender and locus of control have no main and independent effect    on the psychological wellbeing of distance learning students.

 1.6                                     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that this study will be of immense benefits to students, clinicians, psychologists, sociologists, medical practitioners and future researchers. The study through its findings will adequately improve the mental capability, cognitive development and psychological wellbeing of the students which will further lead to improvement in all facets of their life.

1.7                                          SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is delineated to examine the effect of gender and locus of control on the psychological wellbeing of distance learning students with strong emphasis on distance learning students in the University of Ibadan.

1.8                                        LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

During the course of carrying out the study, several limitations were encountered:

Financial Constraint:   Due to the paucity of funds, the study covered only distance learning students in the University of Ibadan.

Time Constraint:  A relatively short time was given to conduct a study of this magnitude in addition to other academic commitment of the researcher.

Unwillingness of the Respondents:  Majority of the respondents were unwillingly to participate in the survey because they feel that is an intrusion to their personal life.

Nevertheless, a robust and fact-finding study was carried out.

1.9                                               METHODOLOGY

The study adopted the survey research design in conjunction with the purposive sampling technique to select 500 (Males =50; Female=50) distance learning students in the University of Ibadan. Two research instruments- the Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale and the Ryff’s Psychological Wellbeing Scale, were used to generate data from the respondents.

Furthermore, descriptive statistics analysis, Pearson product correlation technique, the analysis of the variance, and multiple regression analysis were employed to test the stated hypothesis.

1.10          ASSUMPTIONS

The study was premised on the axiom that

All respondents selected are distance learning students in the University of Ibadan.

All the information obtained from the respondents is true, accurate and genuine.

1.11           DEFINITION OF TERMS

Gender:  The biological sex of an individual usually male or female.

Locus of Control:   This refers to the degree to which people believe that they have control over the outcome of events in their lives, as opposed to external forces beyond their control.

Psychological Wellbeing:  It is the combination of positive affective states such as happiness and functioning with optimal effectiveness in social and individual life. People with high psychological wellbeing feel happy, well supported and are satisfied with life.

.

EFFECT OF GENDER AND LOCUS OF CONTROL ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING OF DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN.



TYPE IN YOUR TOPIC AND CLICK SEARCH.






RESEARCHWAP.NET
Researchwap.net is an online repository for free project topics and research materials, articles and custom writing of research works. We’re an online resource centre that provides a vast database for students to access numerous research project topics and materials. Researchwap.net guides and assist Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Final Year Students with well researched and quality project topics, topic ideas, research guides and project materials. We’re reliable and trustworthy, and we really understand what is called “time factor”, that is why we’ve simplified the process so that students can get their research projects ready on time. Our platform provides more educational services, such as hiring a writer, research analysis, and software for computer science research and we also seriously adhere to a timely delivery.

TESTIMONIES FROM OUR CLIENTS


Please feel free to carefully review some written and captured responses from our satisfied clients.

  • "Exceptionally outstanding. Highly recommend for all who wish to have effective and excellent project defence. Easily Accessable, Affordable, Effective and effective."

    Debby Henry George, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA.
  • "I saw this website on facebook page and I did not even bother since I was in a hurry to complete my project. But I am totally amazed that when I visited the website and saw the topic I was looking for and I decided to give a try and now I have received it within an hour after ordering the material. Am grateful guys!"

    Hilary Yusuf, United States International University Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
  • "Researchwap.net is a website I recommend to all student and researchers within and outside the country. The web owners are doing great job and I appreciate them for that. Once again, thank you very much "researchwap.net" and God bless you and your business! ."

    Debby Henry George, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA.
  • "Great User Experience, Nice flows and Superb functionalities.The app is indeed a great tech innovation for greasing the wheels of final year, research and other pedagogical related project works. A trial would definitely convince you."

    Lamilare Valentine, Kwame Nkrumah University, Kumasi, Ghana.
  • "I love what you guys are doing, your material guided me well through my research. Thank you for helping me achieve academic success."

    Sampson, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
  • "researchwap.com is God-sent! I got good grades in my seminar and project with the help of your service, thank you soooooo much."

    Cynthia, Akwa Ibom State University .
  • "Sorry, it was in my spam folder all along, I should have looked it up properly first. Please keep up the good work, your team is quite commited. Am grateful...I will certainly refer my friends too."

    Elizabeth, Obafemi Awolowo University
  • "Am happy the defense went well, thanks to your articles. I may not be able to express how grateful I am for all your assistance, but on my honour, I owe you guys a good number of referrals. Thank you once again."

    Ali Olanrewaju, Lagos State University.
  • "My Dear Researchwap, initially I never believed one can actually do honest business transactions with Nigerians online until i stumbled into your website. You have broken a new legacy of record as far as am concerned. Keep up the good work!"

    Willie Ekereobong, University of Port Harcourt.
  • "WOW, SO IT'S TRUE??!! I can't believe I got this quality work for just 3k...I thought it was scam ooo. I wouldn't mind if it goes for over 5k, its worth it. Thank you!"

    Theressa, Igbinedion University.
  • "I did not see my project topic on your website so I decided to call your customer care number, the attention I got was epic! I got help from the beginning to the end of my project in just 3 days, they even taught me how to defend my project and I got a 'B' at the end. Thank you so much researchwap.com, infact, I owe my graduating well today to you guys...."

    Joseph, Abia state Polytechnic.
  • "My friend told me about ResearchWap website, I doubted her until I saw her receive her full project in less than 15 miniutes, I tried mine too and got it same, right now, am telling everyone in my school about researchwap.com, no one has to suffer any more writing their project. Thank you for making life easy for me and my fellow students... Keep up the good work"

    Christiana, Landmark University .
  • "I wish I knew you guys when I wrote my first degree project, it took so much time and effort then. Now, with just a click of a button, I got my complete project in less than 15 minutes. You guys are too amazing!."

    Musa, Federal University of Technology Minna
  • "I was scared at first when I saw your website but I decided to risk my last 3k and surprisingly I got my complete project in my email box instantly. This is so nice!!!."

    Ali Obafemi, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Niger State.
  • To contribute to our success story, send us a feedback or please kindly call 2348037664978.
    Then your comment and contact will be published here also with your consent.

    Thank you for choosing researchwap.com.