The Impact of Personality and Lifestyle Change on Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity for quantifying the impact of Five Factor Model personality domains (i.e. neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) and COVID-related lifestyle changes on psychological distress. To examine these relationships, we designed and preregistered the present study (https://osf.io/qfw9h). We assessed a large, heterogeneous sample including undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff of a large, public, Midwestern university (n = 1055) to ascertain whether personality domains uniquely predicted distress in response to COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders. This was a three-panel study in which the same potential participant pools were invited to participate at each survey announcement. Data collection occurred between early March through late May 2020, from within days of local shelter-in-place order onset to within days of reaching 100,000 COVID-related deaths in the USA. Domain and distress scores were determined from self-reported ratings on the Big Five Inventory and the 21-Item Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales, respectively. Participants also reported personal experiences with six COVID-specific lifestyle impacts: insufficient outdoor or indoor living space, job insecurity, income insecurity, or taking care of or homeschooling school-aged children during working hours. Zero-order correlations revealed that all personality domains except openness had statistically significant correlations with distress, and all correlations were negative except for that of neuroticism. When entered simultaneously, neuroticism was the predominant risk factor of distress that held across all preregistered and exploratory analyses. Our expectation that extraversion would be negatively associated with distress was not supported broadly, while agreeableness was a unique potential risk factor (though this effect was mostly limited to exploratory analyses). The results especially highlight the link between employment and income uncertainty with psychological distress, while also identifying insufficient indoor and outdoor space as potential risk factors. We hope these findings inform future public health action and further emphasize the utility of personality trait models in general.

Perceptions of domestic and extra‐domestic environment during the COVID‐19 pandemic in an Italian representative sample

“…Conversely, Negative‐all‐around were more likely to have an inhabitable balcony. These results, not only integrate data obtained regarding participants' financial well‐being, but are particularly important when compared to those obtained by previous research that emphasize the importance that living in homes with adequate spaces (Cavazza et al, 2021; Spinelli et al, 2021) and with outdoor domestic environments (Balling et al, 2021; Lades et al, 2020) during the lockdown had on well‐being. Positive‐all‐around and Cocooning , in fact, showed better psychological and relational well‐being than the other groups, as discussed below.…”

“…Being home the most, and sometimes only, environment experienced and lived throughout the first lockdown period, domestic spaces and dynamics among family members within the household held significant importance. In fact, having adequate space, especially outdoor space, had a unique buffering effect on the level of stress perceived, such that those who endorse having enough space report less distress (Balling, Napolitano, Lane, & Samuel, 2021; Lades, Laffan, Daly, & Delaney, 2020). Moreover, spending more time with children after the schools' closure (Lades et al, 2020) or with their partner (Balzarini et al, 2022; Donato et al, 2021) enhanced people's well‐being and protected them from the negative consequences of the pandemic.…”

“…Variables that were found to be influent in adjustment over COVID‐19 pandemic were identified by a literature review, such as living with a partner (Donato et al, 2021), having children (Moscardino et al, 2021), financial well‐being (Codagnone et al, 2020), characteristics related to the house dimension (Cavazza et al, 2021), presence of outside spaces in the home (Balling et al, 2021) and attitude towards government and community (Han et al, 2021). Finally, variables of psychological well‐being, attitude towards life and sources of family and social support were evaluated.…”

Perceived social support attenuates increased hostile reactions to traumatic threat

“…The majority of participants were female, White, heterosexual, and never married (full demographic characteristics of the sample are listed in Table 1). For further details on the study design and sample, see Balling et al (2021). Answering demographic questions was not required.…”

Family Resilience and Dyadic Coping during the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Their Protective Role in Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being

“…Moreover, previous research emphasized the importance that living in homes with adequate spaces [ 21 , 22 ] and with outdoor domestic environments [ 23 , 24 ] during the lockdown had in well-being. Similarly, individuals who were satisfied with the spatial dimensions of their home experienced lower levels of psychological distress [ 25 ].…”