Self-Assessed Personality Traits and Adherence to the COVID-19 Lockdown

Jakub Jan Rojek, Przemysław Waszak, Ilona Bidzan-Bluma, Aleksandra Sanewska, Joanna Stępień, Tomasz Michalski, Liliana Lorettu, Roberta Meloni, Che-Sheng Chu, Myriam Abboud and Jakub Grabowski ()
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Jakub Jan Rojek: Adult Psychiatry Scientific Circle, Department of Developmental Psychiatry, Psychotic and Geriatric Disorders, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-282 Gdańsk, Poland
Przemysław Waszak: Departament of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
Ilona Bidzan-Bluma: Departament of Psychology, Gdańsk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland
Aleksandra Sanewska: Adult Psychiatry Scientific Circle, Department of Developmental Psychiatry, Psychotic and Geriatric Disorders, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-282 Gdańsk, Poland
Joanna Stępień: Department of Socio-Economic Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdańsk, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland
Tomasz Michalski: Department of Regional Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdańsk, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland
Liliana Lorettu: Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Roberta Meloni: University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Che-Sheng Chu: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan
Myriam Abboud: Department of Natural Science and Public Health, Zayed University, Dubai P.O. Box 19282, United Arab Emirates
Jakub Grabowski: Department of Developmental Psychiatry, Psychotic and Geriatric Disorders, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-282 Gdańsk, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has forced all countries affected by it to introduce quarantine and isolation to prevent the spread of the virus, as well as masking and distancing. Not everyone is equally willing to follow the rules related to limit the extent of the coronavirus epidemic. This might be connected with personality traits, especially openness, positive attitude, and optimism. Materials and Methods : An online survey was created and completed by participants in April–May 2020. Self-assessment of personality traits and adherence to lockdown recommendations were assessed. A total of 7404 participants took part in the study, mainly from Poland (83.6%) and Italy (12.7%). Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was performed. Results: The participants were divided into groups depending on the degree of compliance with the lockdown rules. In the multivariate analysis, variables that increased the odds for stricter lockdown compliance were temporary work suspension OR 1.27 (95% CI 1.10–1.48), income level “we can’t handle this situation” OR 1.67 (95%CI 1.20–2.33), and junior high school education OR 1.68 (95% CI 1.13–2.50). Other significant factors included age and place of residence. Each point of self-assessed sociability OR 1.07 (95% CI 1.00–1.13) also increased the likelihood of adhering to lockdown rules. Conclusions: Taking the basic demographic characteristics as well as working and health environment conditions traits into account may be helpful when forecasting epidemiological compliance during a pandemic, as well as in other public health tasks. The key role of self-assessed personality traits was not confirmed in this study. Reliability of the results is limited by significant disproportions in the size of the study groups.

Keywords: pandemic; isolation; quarantine; cultural differences; optimism; openness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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