Big Five Personality Factors in Relation to Coping with Contact Restrictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Small Sample Study

Martin Weiß (), Johannes Rodrigues and Johannes Hewig
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Martin Weiß: Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Johannes Rodrigues: Department of Psychology I: Differential Psychology, Personality Psychology and Psychological Diagnostics, Institute of Psychology, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany
Johannes Hewig: Department of Psychology I: Differential Psychology, Personality Psychology and Psychological Diagnostics, Institute of Psychology, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-7

Abstract: To slow down the spread of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, countries worldwide severely restricted public and social life. In addition to the physical threat posed by the viral disease (COVID-19), the pandemic also has implications for psychological well-being. Using a small sample ( N = 51), we examined how Big Five personality traits relate to coping with contact restrictions during three consecutive weeks in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. We showed that extraversion was associated with suffering from severe contact restrictions and with benefiting from their relaxation. Individuals with high neuroticism did not show a change in their relatively poor coping with the restrictions over time, whereas conscientious individuals seemed to experience no discomfort and even positive feelings during the period of contact restrictions. Our results support the assumption that neuroticism is a vulnerability factor in relation to psychological wellbeing but also show an influence of contact restrictions on extraverted individuals.

Keywords: Big Five; coping; COVID-19; positive affect; negative affect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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