Original title: How personality traits shape susceptibility to mental distress in times of crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic
The researchers examined how five personality traits related to mental distressThe mental health difficulties examined in the article. during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. People with higher neuroticismA personality trait associated here with a greater likelihood of mental distress during the pandemic. were more likely to experience distress after the pandemic began. This pattern went along with higher risk perceptions, different use of protective behaviors, and less adaptive ways of copingWays people respond to stress or difficult situations.. The other traits had weaker, inconsistent, or statistically insignificant links with mental health over time.
Imagine a sudden storm forces everyone to change their plans. Some people feel the danger more strongly, choose different precautions, and find it harder to adjust. In this paper, the storm stands for the pandemic, and those different responses help explain why people higher in neuroticism were more likely to experience mental distress.
A crisis does not affect everyone’s mental health in the same way. The findings suggest that people higher in neuroticism may be among those who could benefit from targeted mental health support during future crises.
The abstract reports associations, not proof that personality traits caused mental distress. It gives no details about the size of the effects, how the traits or distress were measured, or whether the findings apply beyond the study population and the COVID-19 crisis.
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How personality traits shape susceptibility to mental distress in times of crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic — Marco Angrisani, Vincenzo Atella, Wändi Bruine de Bruin et al. — PLoS ONE — doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0358371
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.