Comparison of Physical and Mental Health in Single and Married Students of Shahrekord University: Controlling the Effect of Personality Traits

Marriage is one of the main relationships for most adults, which has many effects on physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to compare the physical and mental health of single and married students of Shahrekord University with respect to controlling the effect of personality traits in 2019-2020.

The present study was descriptive-comparative. The study was conducted with 400 students of Shahrekord University who were selected by convenience methods as Quota sampling. Data collection instruments included: demographic questionnaire, "36-Item Short-Form Health Survey" and "NEO Personality Inventory". The validity of the instruments was measured by face validity and reliability by internal consistency method by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data were collected in the classroom or in the dormitory. Data analysis was performed using SPSS. 22.

Without controlling the effect of personality traits, a significant difference was observed in the mental health dimension between the two groups of single and married students (F=6.987, P=0.009), meaning that the average mental health of married students was higher than single students. But in terms of physical health, no significant difference was found between single and married students. When the effect of personality component scores as a covariate variable was controlled by analysis of covariance, the results showed that the average score of married people in mental health is still higher than single people, but the average physical health score of single people is higher than married people.

By controlling the effect of personality traits on physical and mental health, married people had more mental health than single people. Marriage counselors and psychologists, as well as Broadcasting, are encouraged to create a more positive view of marriage in their educational programs by emphasizing the benefits of marriage, especially in the field of mental health.