The Development of Cybersecurity Behavior in the Workplace and Its Relationship with the Big Five Personality Factors among Adults

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the development of cybersecurity behavior among adults according to the variables of age and gender, as well as the major personality traits of adults according to the variables of age and gender, and the correlation between cybersecurity behavior and major personality traits in adults. The researchers adopted a descriptive/correlational approach in this study. The research sample consisted of 150 respondents (75 males and 75 females). The researchers used the Muniandy et al. (2017) scale to measure cybersecurity behavior. The scale consists of 50 items distributed across five sub-dimensions: malware, password use, phishing problems, social engineering problems, and cyber fraud problems. Each sub-dimension comprises 10 items. The researchers also adopted the (NovoPsych- NFFPS-30) scale for measuring macropersonal traits. This scale consists of 30 items distributed across five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. After statistically analyzing the data, the following results were obtained: the current study sample of adults does not exhibit cybersecurity behaviors; the study sample is characterized by the traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience; and there is a statistically significant correlation between cybersecurity behavior and the traits of extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. The researchers then formulated a set of conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions.