Personality and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was a health crisis eliciting a variety of stressors, leading to reductions in well-being worldwide. Personality traits determine how people respond to adversities and disasters. In this study, we investigated the association between a wide range of personality characteristics and different indicators of psychological well-being in Turkish university undergraduates during the first lockdown of the pandemic. We conducted an online cross-sectional survey to collect data. Zero-order correlations demonstrated higher resilience, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness related to higher well-being, whereas neuroticism and attachment anxiety were related to lower well-being. In the results of multivariate analysis, resilience was consistently and strongly associated with better psychological well-being. Neuroticism was related positively to depression and anxiety symptoms and negative affect but unrelated to positive affect. High self-control was linked to a more positive affect and less negative affect. Our findings illustrated personality’s potential adaptive and maladaptive effects on reported mental health during the pandemic.