BIG 5 personality factors in relation to coping with contact restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic: An explorative analysis

The spread of the Sars-Cov-2 virus quickly developed into a pandemic. To slow down the spread of the resulting deadly disease COVID-19, many countries have severely restricted public and social life. In addition to the physical threat posed by the viral disease, such a pandemic has an impact on the mental well-being of individuals. In the present study we have therefore examined exploratively how individual differences based on the Big Five personality factors affect how people cope with contact restrictions during three weeks in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Using a small sample (N = 51), we were able to show that extraverts in particular suffer from severe limitations and benefit from relaxation. Individuals with high neuroticism, on the other hand, have not shown any change in dealing with the restrictions over time, whereas conscientious individuals seem to experience no discomfort and even positive aspects in the time of social restrictions. This bolsters the concept of neuroticism as a vulnerability factor concerning mental well-being per se, but also shows the importance of the social context to allow protective factors like extraversion to take action.

Preprint of: Weiß, M., Rodrigues, J., & Hewig, J. (2022). Big Five Personality Factors in Relation to Coping with Contact Restrictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Small Sample Study. Social Sciences, 11(10), 466. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11100466