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COVID-19 Pandemic and Personality: Agreeable People Are More Stressed by the Feeling of Missing

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  • Stephan Getzmann

    (Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), Ardeystrasse 67, D-44139 Dortmund, Germany)

  • Jan Digutsch

    (Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), Ardeystrasse 67, D-44139 Dortmund, Germany)

  • Thomas Kleinsorge

    (Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), Ardeystrasse 67, D-44139 Dortmund, Germany)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have substantial consequences for many people, resulting in negative effects on individual well-being and mental health. In the current study, we examined whether individual changes in perceived stress relative to pre-pandemic levels depended on differences in behavior, appraisal, and experience of pandemic-related constraints. In addition, we tested whether this potential relationship was moderated by personality traits. We conducted an online survey during the end of the first lockdown in Germany in spring 2020, and assessed pandemic-related individual consequences as well as perceived stress. These data were related to the big five personality traits and to ratings of perceived stress obtained from the same participants in a study conducted before the outbreak of the pandemic, using the same standardized stress questionnaires. There was no overall increase, but a large interindividual variety in perceived stress relative to pre-pandemic levels. Increased stress was associated especially with strong feelings of missing. This relationship was moderated by agreeableness, with more agreeable people showing a higher association of the feeling of missing and the increase of perceived stress. In addition, openness and conscientiousness were positively correlated with an increase in stress. The results highlight the importance of considering personality and individual appraisals when examining the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress and well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephan Getzmann & Jan Digutsch & Thomas Kleinsorge, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic and Personality: Agreeable People Are More Stressed by the Feeling of Missing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-16, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:20:p:10759-:d:655603
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eline Moens & Louis Lippens & Philippe Sterkens & Johannes Weytjens & Stijn Baert, 2022. "The COVID-19 crisis and telework: a research survey on experiences, expectations and hopes," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(4), pages 729-753, June.
    2. Alessio Gori & Eleonora Topino, 2021. "Across the COVID-19 Waves; Assessing Temporal Fluctuations in Perceived Stress, Post-Traumatic Symptoms, Worry, Anxiety and Civic Moral Disengagement over One Year of Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-14, May.
    3. Davidson, Russell & MacKinnon, James G., 1993. "Estimation and Inference in Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195060119.
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    1. Agata Chudzicka-Czupała & Soon-Kiat Chiang & Damian Grabowski & Marta Żywiołek-Szeja & Matthew Quek & Bartosz Pudełek & Kayla Teopiz & Roger Ho & Roger S. McIntyre, 2022. "Predictors of Psychological Distress across Three Time Periods during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Iman Aolymat & Ashraf I. Khasawneh & Mohammad Al-Tamimi, 2022. "COVID-19-Associated Mental Health Impact on Menstrual Function Aspects: Dysmenorrhea and Premenstrual Syndrome, and Genitourinary Tract Health: A Cross Sectional Study among Jordanian Medical Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.

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