Volume 30, Issue 2 (6-2024)
Research on Information Science and Public Libraries 2024, 30(2): 176-191 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Ghanbari Khoshnood M, Safavi Z, Derikvand P, Rastegary F. The Relationship between Personality Traits and Health Information-Seeking Behavior of Users of Public Libraries Based on Miller's Theory. Research on Information Science and Public Libraries 2024; 30 (2) :176-191
URL: http://publij.ir/article-1-2483-en.html
URL: http://publij.ir/article-1-2483-en.html
Knowledge and Information Science, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran , zsafavi@alzahra.ac.ir
Abstract: (3860 Views)
Purpose: Personality traits are effective in information seeking behavior. The present research was conducted with the aim of discovering the relationship between personality traits and health information seeking behavior of users of the central library of Hamadan province based on Miller's theory.
Method: The type of this study is applied and its method is a survey. The research population included all 4638 users of the central library of Hamadan province. According to Morgan's table, the sample size was 355 people and 346 questionnaires were used in the final analysis. The tools of data collection were the standard questionnaires of Five Neo Personality Factors and Miller's Health Information Seeking Behavior. Data analysis was done at two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 26.
Findings: 75.4% (261 people) of the studied population actively search for health information and 24.6% (85 people) consciously avoid searching for health information. There is a high and significant relationship between the personality traits of Extroversion, Agreeableness and Passion for New Experiences with the component of active search for health information and there was a low and significant relationship between the three mentioned personality traits with the conscious avoidance of health information search component. There was no significant relationship between the personality traits of Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness with the components of health information seeking behavior. The results of multiple linear regression analysis to predict the conscious search for health information through personality traits showed that the personality traits Extroversion, Agreeableness and Openness with predicting 42.9 percentage of the variance of the dependent variable is a good indicator for explanation. In predicting conscious avoidance of seeking health information through personality traits, it was found that the personality traits Extroversion, Agreeableness and Passion for new experiences explained 36.3% of the variance of the dependent variable. It can be said that they are a good indicator for explanation.
Originality/value: The findings of this research based on the importance of public health knowledge and the influence of personality traits on the way of seeking health information and the type of preventive behaviors to deal with stressful events can help managers and planners of public libraries in making decisions related to the provision of resources according to the personality characteristics and training users for health information seeking skills. The results of the present research, by determining the prevalence of personality traits of Extroversion, Agreeableness and Openness of the studied users shows the necessity of librarians' efforts in providing services by considering these characteristics and promoting services and information resources according to users’ other personality traits and behavioral characteristics.
Method: The type of this study is applied and its method is a survey. The research population included all 4638 users of the central library of Hamadan province. According to Morgan's table, the sample size was 355 people and 346 questionnaires were used in the final analysis. The tools of data collection were the standard questionnaires of Five Neo Personality Factors and Miller's Health Information Seeking Behavior. Data analysis was done at two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 26.
Findings: 75.4% (261 people) of the studied population actively search for health information and 24.6% (85 people) consciously avoid searching for health information. There is a high and significant relationship between the personality traits of Extroversion, Agreeableness and Passion for New Experiences with the component of active search for health information and there was a low and significant relationship between the three mentioned personality traits with the conscious avoidance of health information search component. There was no significant relationship between the personality traits of Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness with the components of health information seeking behavior. The results of multiple linear regression analysis to predict the conscious search for health information through personality traits showed that the personality traits Extroversion, Agreeableness and Openness with predicting 42.9 percentage of the variance of the dependent variable is a good indicator for explanation. In predicting conscious avoidance of seeking health information through personality traits, it was found that the personality traits Extroversion, Agreeableness and Passion for new experiences explained 36.3% of the variance of the dependent variable. It can be said that they are a good indicator for explanation.
Originality/value: The findings of this research based on the importance of public health knowledge and the influence of personality traits on the way of seeking health information and the type of preventive behaviors to deal with stressful events can help managers and planners of public libraries in making decisions related to the provision of resources according to the personality characteristics and training users for health information seeking skills. The results of the present research, by determining the prevalence of personality traits of Extroversion, Agreeableness and Openness of the studied users shows the necessity of librarians' efforts in providing services by considering these characteristics and promoting services and information resources according to users’ other personality traits and behavioral characteristics.
Keywords: Five Neo Personality Factors, Personality Traits, Five Factors, Miller's Health Information Seeking Behavior, Hamadan Central Library
Type of Study: quantitative |
Subject:
Libraries Services
Received: 2023/06/16 | Accepted: 2023/08/22 | Published: 2024/03/29
Received: 2023/06/16 | Accepted: 2023/08/22 | Published: 2024/03/29
References
1. Adeyemo, D. A. (2008). Demographic characteristics and emotional intelligence among workers in some selected organizations in Oyo State, Nigeria. Vision, 12(1), 43-48. [DOI:10.1177/097226290801200106]
2. Aldousari, E.A. & Al-Sejari, M. (2021). Health information seeking behaviour among the Kuwaiti population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, 26(3), 105-122. [DOI:10.22452/mjlis.vol26no3.6]
3. Andrews, R.A., John, B., & Lancastle, D. (2023). Symptom monitoring improves physical and emotional outcomes during menopause: A randomized controlled trial. Menopause, 30(3), 267-274. [DOI:10.1097/GME.0000000000002144]
4. Bento, S., Gaultney, W., & Dahlquist, L. (2020). An exploratory factor analysis of the procedural coping questionnaire. Children's Health Care, 49(1), 55-68. [DOI:10.1080/02739615.2018.1558058]
5. Bighdeli, Z., Hayati, Z., Heidari, Gh.R., & Jokar, T. (2016). Place of Internet in Health information seeking behavior: Case of young Internet users in Shiraz. Human and Information Interaction. 3 (1), 1-19. (In Persian)
6. Bradberry, T. & Greaves, J. (2005). The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book. Mehdi Ghanji (Translator). Tehran: Savalan. (In Persian)
7. Chen, X., Li, M., & Kreps, G.L. (2022). Double burden of COVID-19 knowledge deficit: Low health literacy and high information avoidance. BMC Research Notes. 15(1), 1-7. [DOI:10.1186/s13104-022-05913-8]
8. Cheshmeh Sohrabi, M., Baloochi, M., & Noori, A. (2018). Investigating the personality and demographic characteristics of knowledge and information science specialists based on the five-factor model of personality. Iranian Library and Information Science Research. 8(1), 29-54. (In Persian)
9. Ebrahimi, S., Hekmat, F.Z., & Jokar, A.R. (2015). Predicting the information-seeking behavior of graduate students of Shiraz University based on the dimensions of goal orientation and creativity. Iranian Journal of Information Processing and Management. 30 (4), 965-996 (In Persian).
10. Farhoodi, F. (2015). The effect of the personality characteristics of master's students in knowledge and information science on their information-seeking behavior. Epistemology. 8(30), 87-96. (In Persian)
11. Fathi Ashtiani, A., & Dastani, M. (2013). Psychological Tests: Evaluation of Personality and Mental Health. Tehran: Be'sat. (In Persian)
12. Ghaffari, S., & Poorhabibi, M. (2019). Examining the status of informing and seeking information of librarians of public libraries in Kerman province about health information. Epistemology, 12 (46), 62-51. (In Persian)
13. Halder, S., Roy, A., & Chakraborty, P.K. (2010). The influence of personality traits on information seeking behaviour of students. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science. 15 (1), 41-53.
14. Harrod, N. R. & Scheer, S. D. (2005). An exploration of adolescent emotional intelligence in relation to demographic characteristics. Adolescence. 40(159), 503-512.
15. Jimenez-Pernett, J., Olry de Labry-Lima, A., García-Gutiérrez, J. F., Salcedo-Sánchez, M. D. C., & Bermudez-Tamayo, C. (2010). Sex differences in the use of the Internet as a source of health information among adolescents. Telemedicine and E-Health, 16(2), 145-153. [DOI:10.1089/tmj.2009.0062]
16. Kafetsios, K. (2004). Attachment and emotional intelligence abilities across the life course. Personality and Individual Differences. 37(1), 129-145. [DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2003.08.006]
17. Karimkhani, A. & Neshat, N. (2016). Determining the relationship between the big five personality factors and the information-seeking behavior of graduate students. Human and Information Interaction. 3 (3), 91-82. (In Persian)
18. Kim, W., Kreps, G.L., & Shin, C.N. (2015). The role of social support and social networks in health information-seeking behavior among Korean Americans: A qualitative study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14 (40), 1-10. [DOI:10.1186/s12939-015-0169-8]
19. Khosravi, Sh. & Haghayegh, A. (2017). Comparison of characteristics and personality types between collision and non-collision sports athletes. Knowledge and Research in Applied Psychology. 18(4), 21-34. (In Persian)
20. Khosrojerdi, M., Olumi, T., Naghshineh, N., & Mohseni, N. (2009). The role of personality dimensions in the information-seeking behavior of graduate students of Tehran University in 2015-2016. Iranian Journal Information Processing and Management, 24 (3), 35-60. (In Persian)
21. Lalehzarian, A., Zare-Farashbandi, F., Rahimi, A., & Hasanzadeh, A. (2014). Investigating the effect of individual factors on health information seeking behavior of diabetic patients. Health Management Quarterly, 17 (58), 108-97. (In Persian)
22. Lambert. S.D. & Loiselle, C.G. (2007). Health information seeking behavior. Qualitative Health Research, 17 (8), 1006-1019. [DOI:10.1177/1049732307305199]
23. Latifi, M. (2019). Letter to the editor: Health information seeking behavior of patients. Preventive Medicine. 6 (1), 1-2. (In Persian) [DOI:10.29252/jpm.6.1.2]
24. Mami, Sh. & Mohammad-Beigi, Z. (2014). Gender and four skills of emotional intelligence. Health System Research Journal. 4 (10), 678-684. (In Persian)
25. Mandell, B. & Pherwani, S. (2003). Relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style: A gender comparison. Journal of Business and Psychology. 17, 387-404. [DOI:10.1023/A:1022816409059]
26. Mason, N.F., Francis, D.B., & Pecchioni, L.L. (2020). Health information seeking as a coping strategy to reduce alzheimer's caregivers' stress. Health Communication, 37(2), 131-140. [DOI:10.1080/10410236.2020.1824665]
27. Mayer, J.D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (1999). Emotional intelligence meets traditional standards for an intelligence. Intelligence. 27(4), 267-298. [DOI:10.1016/S0160-2896(99)00016-1]
28. Moosa Rezaee, N., Ashrafi Rizi, H., & Shahrzadi, L. (2019). Investigating the health information seeking behavior of users of public libraries in Isfahan city. Health Information Management. 16 (4), 184-189. (In Persian)
29. Nahl, D. (2001). Conceptual framework for explaining information behavior. Studies in Media and Information Literacy Education. 1 (2), 1-16. [DOI:10.3138/sim.1.2.001]
30. Palmer, J. (1991). Scientists and information: I. Using cluster analysis to identify information style. Journal of Documentation. 47 (2), 105-129. [DOI:10.1108/eb026873]
31. Plamann, K., McCarthy Veach, P., LeRoy, B. S., MacFarlane, I. M., Petzel, S. V., & Zierhut, H. A. (2021). Effects of monitoring versus blunting on the public's preferences for information in a hypothetical cancer diagnosis scenario. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 30 (1), 132-143. [DOI:10.1002/jgc4.1302]
32. Radad, I. (2009). Information-seeking behavior of graduate students of Islamic Azad University in using the World Wide Web. Library and Information Science. 12 (3), 141-168. (In Persian)
33. Sabzevari, S., Nikbakht Nasrabadi, A.R., & Neghahban banaee, T. (2014). Women's health information search sources: A qualitative study. Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences. 3(4), 349-362. (In Persian)
34. Salaghagheh, S., Nikpoor, A., & Nobari Aydisheh, S. (2011). Investigating the relationship between emotional intelligence and organizational innovation among private sector managers and government organizations in Tehran. Beyond Management. 5(18), 147-166. (In Persian)
35. Shafiee, H., Javidi, H.A., & Kazemi, S. (2011). Comparison of personality traits with mental health of women and men with heart and kidney diseases. Women and Society Scientific-Research Quarterly. 2 (2), 169-145. (In Persian).
36. So, J., Kuang, K., & Cho, H. (2019). Information seeking upon exposure to risk messages: Predictors, outcomes and mediating roles of health information seeking. Communication Research, 46(5), 663-687. [DOI:10.1177/0093650216679536]
37. Stromsvik, N., Olsson, P., Gravdehaug, B., Luras, H., Schlichting, E., Jorgensen, K., ... & Grindedal, E. M. (2022). It was an important part of my treatment: A qualitative study of Norwegian breast cancer patients' experiences with mainstreamed genetic testing. Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice, 20(1), 6. [DOI:10.1186/s13053-022-00212-6]
38. Van-Kuijck, B. & Paresi, V. (2020). Personality of internal auditors; An exploratory study in the Netherlands. Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie. 94(3/4), 113-125. [DOI:10.5117/mab.94.47818]
39. Zamani, M., Rahmanian, V., Namdar, A., & Marzban, A. (2021). Investigation of the abundance of self-management information sources in diabetic patients of Jahrom city in 2018. Iranian Journal of Diabetes and Metabolism. 21(5), 276-286. (In Persian)
40. Zare-Farashbandi, F., Lalezarian, A., Rahimi, A.R., & Hasanzadeh, A. (2015). Active and passive reception of health information by diabetic patients in Isfahan city. Payesh. 14(6), 729-740. (In Persian)
41. Zhang, Y. (2013). The effects of preference for information on consumers' online health information search behavior. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 15(11), e234. [DOI:10.2196/jmir.2783]
42. Zhuo, Q., Cui, C., Liang, H., Bai, Y., Hu, Q., Hanum, A. L., ... & Ma, F. (2021). Cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability of the Chinese Version of Miller Behavioral Style Scale. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 19, 1-11. [DOI:10.1186/s12955-021-01717-9]
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
