The level of optimism and its relation to the personal project of life among master students - A field study at the university of M'sila

Abstract

The objective of the study was to investigate the degree of optimism and its relationship with the personal life project among Master's students, as well as to examine the presence of statistically significant differences based on gender and academic specialization (Psychology vs. Educational Sciences). The study sample consisted of 120 male and female students, selected using the survey method, from the Department of Psychology at the University of M’sila during the academic year 2017/2018. Two standardized instruments were employed: The Optimism Scale (28 items) developed by Iman Sadiq Abdel Karim, and the Personal Life Project Scale (55 items) developed by Zgawa Ahmed. Adopting a descriptive research design and applying appropriate statistical procedures, the study yielded the following results: a statistically significant positive correlation was found at the 0.01 level between the total score of optimism and the total score of the personal life project among Master's students. Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed at the 0.01 level in the degree of optimism between male and female students, in favor of female students. Statistically significant differences were also found at the 0.01 degree in the personal life project scores between male and female students, again in favor of female students.