An Investigation of Personality Traits in Relation to Intention to Withdraw From College

We examined the Big Five(De Raad, 2000) personality traits of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness, plus the narrow personality traits of Aggression, Career-Decidedness, Optimism, Self-Directed Learning, Sense of Identity, Tough-Mindedness, and Work Drive in relation to intention to withdraw from college. Among 233 university freshmen, all of the traits except Tough-Mindedness and Openness were significantly related to withdrawal intention, with three traits—Sense of Identity, Emotional Stability, and Work Drive—accounting for 22% of the variance in intention to withdraw. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.