Influence of personality traits and family income on farmers' psychological distress on agriculture: The significance of educational background

Kenya's agricultural sector has not only performed poorly over the past 25 years, but it has also been declining. The health risks associated with agriculture have been the subject of several studies worldwide, but little is known about the stresses that farmers face in developing countries. The current study aimed to investigate how personality types and certain demographic factors affecting farmers' psychological distress in Kenya. The study used a cross-sectional survey design with 320 farmers (207 men and 113 women; ages 20 to 60; M = 49.8 SD = 14.7) who were conveniently and purposefully sampled from three major farm regions in Kisii County, Kenya. Multiple regression analysis was used to stratify the data by educational status. Results showed that psychological discomfort was predicted by low family income and high neuroticism among less educated farmers but not in their more educated counterparts. Psychological distress inversely correlated with income (r = -.27, p =.001) and positively correlated with neuroticism (r =.28, p <.001) among farmers with less education. No correlation between psychological distress and extraversion (r = -.02, p =.77), agreeableness (r =.15, p =.053), conscientiousness (r = -.02, p =.75), or openness (r =.03, p =.68). All predictor variables, such as extraversion (r =.13, p =.13), agreeableness (r =.02, p =.84), conscientiousness (r = -.04, p =.65), neuroticism (r =.06, p =.52), openness (r = -.11, p =.23), and income (r = -.11, p =.23). The outcomes suggest that economic variables and personality tendency may make less educated farmers more susceptible to psychological suffering. The negative impacts of neuroticism and poor income on emotional wellbeing may be lessened if farmers become more literate.