The influence of neuroticism, extraversion and openness on stress responses

How is variability in physiological responses to social stress related to punishment and reward sensitivities? Preliminary findings from the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality perspective

OBJECTIVE

Although personality traits are assumed to have biological/physiological foundations, research has yielded mixed evidence regarding the relationship between personality and physiological stress responses. Moreover, the field has often overlooked the contemporary neuroscience-based personality approach, known as the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) of Personality, in stress research.

METHOD

The present study examined the relationship between the revised RST's personality dimensions and heart rate and skin conductance level (SCL) in response to the Trier Social Stress Test in a sample of 61 healthy university students.

RESULTS

Piecewise latent growth curve analysis controlling for the participants' current life stress, smoking use, and caffeine intake revealed that individuals with higher behavioral inhibition exhibited higher physiological reactivity, whereas those with high reward sensitivity showed smaller heart rate reactivity. The behavioral disengagement facet of the behavioral inhibition scale was associated with reduced sympathetic arousal during the stress task. Additionally, reward interest was associated with a larger recovery of SCL.

CONCLUSION

Results were generally in line with the revised theory. The study findings were discussed within the paradigm of the approach-avoidance conflict and highlighted the importance of reward sensitivity in stress resilience.

Protective and vulnerability personality traits associated with PTSD diagnosis after preterm delivery

Giving birth prematurely is a traumatic event that has many consequences for the mother but also for her baby and their family. Studies have shown that about a quarter of these mothers will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result. This study aims to identify internal personality factors associated with the development of PTSD in mothers who gave birth before 33 weeks. The results revealed significant correlations between two personality dimensions (neuroticism and extraversion) and the likeliness of developing PTSD in mothers who gave birth prematurely. Neuroticism is positively liked with the disorder while extraversion is negatively correlated with it. Studies should now focus on early detection of PTSD and better interventions for these mothers.

The mediating effect of post-traumatic growth on the relationship between personality traits and resilience among a sample of Lebanese adults

BACKGROUND

Resilience plays a crucial role in mental health promotion and prevention, and was shown to be more represented in individuals who exhibit high levels of extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. However, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively investigate the association between personality traits and resilience in Lebanon and Arab countries more broadly. The purpose of the present study was to complement the literature by investigating the direct and indirect effects between the five personality traits and resilience among a sample of Lebanese adults through the intermediary role of posttraumatic growth.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional study was carried out between May and July 2022, and enrolled 387 participants, all aged above 18 years old and recruited from all Lebanon governorates. The questionnaire used included socio-demographic questions, and the following scales: Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) to assess resilience, post traumatic growth (PTG), and Big Five Inventory (BFI-2). The SPSS software v.25 was used for the statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Post-traumatic growth mediated the association between extraversion / agreeableness / conscientiousness and resilience. Higher extraversion / agreeableness / conscientiousness was significantly associated with more post-traumatic growth. Higher post-traumatic growth was significantly associated with more resilience. Extraversion, but not agreeableness and conscientiousness, was significantly and directly associated with more resilience.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that fostering PTG in individuals who experience adversity can help promote their resilience. Hence, it could be beneficial to design and apply programs aiming at supporting PTG among people who experience stressful and traumatizing situations, to consequently help them increase their sense of resilience.

Association of polygenic scores for depression and neuroticism with perceived stress in daily life during a long-lasting stress period

Genetic factors contribute significantly to interindividual differences in the susceptibility to stress-related disorders. As stress can also be conceptualized as environmental exposure, controlled gene-environment interaction (GxE) studies with an in-depth phenotyping may help to unravel mechanisms underlying the interplay between genetic factors and stress. In a prospective-longitudinal quasi-experimental study, we investigated whether polygenic scores (PGS) for depression (DEP-PGS) and neuroticism (NEU-PGS), respectively, were associated with responses to chronic stress in daily life. We examined law students (n = 432) over 13 months. Participants in the stress group experienced a long-lasting stress phase, namely the preparation for the first state examination for law students. The control group consisted of law students without particular stress exposure. In the present manuscript, we analyzed perceived stress levels assessed at high frequency and in an ecologically valid manner by ambulatory assessments as well as depression symptoms and two parameters of the cortisol awakening response. The latter was only assessed in a subsample (n = 196). No associations between the DEP-PGS and stress-related variables were found. However, for the NEU-PGS we found a significant GxE effect. Only in individuals experiencing academic stress a higher PGS for neuroticism predicted stronger increases of perceived stress levels until the exam. At baseline, a higher NEU-PGS was associated with higher perceived stress levels in both groups. Despite the small sample size, we provide preliminary evidence that the genetic disposition for neuroticism is associated with stress level increases in daily life during a long-lasting stress period.

Neuroticism and Stress in Older Adults: The Buffering Role of Self-Esteem

BACKGROUND

Chronic stress is associated with accelerated aging and poor health outcomes in older adults. According to the Transactional Model of Stress (TMS), distress is experienced when one perceives the stressor, or threat, to outweigh the ability to cope. The experience of distress is correlated with trait neuroticism, which is associated with greater perceptions of stress and stress reactivity, as well as a tendency to engage in maladaptive coping strategies. However, as individual personality traits do not act in isolation, this study aimed to investigate the moderating role of self-esteem in the relationship between neuroticism and distress using a TMS framework.

METHODS

A total of 201 healthy older adults (Mage = 68.65 years) completed questionnaires measuring self-esteem, neuroticism, perceived stress, and positive coping.

RESULTS

Greater neuroticism was significantly associated with less positive coping at low (b = -0.02, p < 0.001) and mean self-esteem levels (b = -0.01, p < 0.001), but not at high self-esteem levels (b = -0.01, p = 0.06). No moderating effect was found for perceived stress or overall distress.

CONCLUSION

The results support the association between trait neuroticism and indices of stress and suggest a potential buffering effect of self-esteem in moderating the negative association between neuroticism and positive coping.

The Big Five personality traits and allostatic load in middle to older adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Further understanding of the associations between personality traits and allostatic load (AL) may be important for predicting, addressing, and optimizing health outcomes. This review synthesized the existing literature reporting the association between the Big Five personality traits and AL in adults to identify the generalizability and robustness of relationships, potential mechanisms underlying the associations, and study characteristics that may be contributing to inconsistencies in the field. Published and unpublished empirical reports were included if at least one of the Big Five traits was examined and an AL index was constructed using at least two biomarkers in a sample of adults. The methodological plan and standardized coding guide were pre-registered and reported (https://osf.io/rxw5a). Based on 11 studies that met eligibility, meta-analysis of correlation coefficients indicated a small but significant positive association between neuroticism and AL, and small but significant inverse associations between both conscientiousness and openness with AL. This review identifies strengths and limitations within the field, as well as several avenues for future research.

Intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy as mediators between personality traits and adjustment disorder in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

In April 2020, early in the COVID-19 outbreak, governments restricted public gatherings and ordered social distancing. These demands led to challenging adaptations, which in some cases resulted in mental health issues, including adjustment disorder. Guided by the transactional stress model, the current study aimed to examine the relations between personality traits and adjustment disorder in crisis situations and vagueness and the role of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy in these relations. During Israel's first lockdown, 673 Israeli adults completed self-reported e-version questionnaires regarding Big Five personality traits, adjustment disorder, intolerance to uncertainty, self-efficacy, and background variables. The study was designed to examine the association between personality traits and adjustment disorder and the potential mediation of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy in associations. The findings revealed that intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy mediated the association between personality traits and adjustment disorder. The results are consistent with the transactional stress model. They shed light on the role of intolerance to uncertainty and self-efficacy as cognitive mechanisms that promote the development of adjustment disorder. Recommendations for future studies and practice are discussed.

Introversion and the frequency and intensity of daily uplifts and hassles

OBJECTIVE

There is reason to believe that introversion may relate to different patterns of negative and positive experiences in everyday life ("hassles" and "uplifts"), but there is little evidence for this based on reports made in daily life as events occur. We thus extend the literature by using data from ecological momentary assessments to examine whether introversion is associated with either the frequency or intensity of hassles and uplifts.

METHOD

Participants (N = 242) were community-dwelling adults (63% Black, 24% Hispanic; ages 25-65; 65% women) who completed baseline measures of personality and mental health, followed by reports of hassles and uplifts 5x/day for 14 days. We present associations between introversion and hassles/uplifts both with and without controlling for mood-related factors (neuroticism, recent symptoms of depression, and anxiety).

RESULTS

Introversion was associated with reporting less frequent and less enjoyable uplifts, but not with overall hassle frequency or unpleasantness; exploratory analyses suggest associations with specific types of hassles.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results expand understanding of the role of introversion in everyday experiences, suggesting an overall association between introversion and uplifts (but not hassles, broadly) in daily life. Better understanding of such connections may inform future research to determine mechanisms by which introversion relates to health.

Developing a stress induction tool relevant to relationships in a health context

Concerns pertaining to health and to problems in close relationships are both known to be major stressors, yet existing tools are inadequate to assess individual reactions to such stressors. Thus, we sought to develop and preliminarily validate a stress-inducing task for use in a laboratory setting that pertains to the sorts of health-related concerns people face in close relationships. Heterosexual dating couples (44 individuals: mean age 22) were randomized to be paired with their own partner or a stranger and to play a role of speaker or listener. Participants were asked to imagine a scenario in which one person is hit by a car (listener role) and the partner has no means to provide or seek out help for the victim (speaker role). The session consisted of baseline, speech preparation, stress task, and recovery phases. General linear modeling results revealed that the task induced stress, evidenced in cardiovascular activities and self-reported negative affect. Giving a brief speech about the stressful situation creates physiological and psychological strains, regardless of pairing with one's own partner or stranger. Furthermore, cardiovascular and negative affect reactivity to the STress Induction Tool for Close relationships and Health (STITCH) task tended to vary by individual characteristics that reflect one's sensitivity to close relationship-and health-related stress. This tool is intended to be used for testing relationship theory-driven phenomenon and longer-term implications of physiological and affective reactivities in the quality of life and health outcomes of those who experienced a medically stressful circumstance personally or in the family.

Relation between resilience and personality traits: The role of hopelessness and age

Resilience refers to the process by which individuals use the ability to cope with challenges to successfully adapt to adverse situations, inclining towards the future and hope. The main aim of this study was to analyze the relation between resilience, personality traits, and hopelessness. Furthermore, we conducted comparisons between two age groups: young and older adults. The sample comprised 439 Spanish participants (66.7% women; M = 43.73, SD = 26.41; age range = 18-98 years). The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, NEO-Five Factor Inventory, and Beck Hopelessness Scale were used to measure the main study variables. The results revealed a negative relation between resilience and neuroticism, and a positive association with the other personality traits. Additionally, levels of resilience were found to be negatively related to hopelessness. The group of older adults showed significantly lower resilience levels than the young adults, although age was not a significant predictor of resilience. Neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and hopelessness were the only predictors of resilience for the current study. This work contributes to the study of resilience and related factors, by attempting to understand the role of resilience and resistance to risk and how individuals tackle challenges over time, with important implications for mental health.

Influence of students' personality on their leisure behaviour choices and moderating effects on their academic efficacy: An exploratory study

Studying can be very stressful leading to a decreased academic efficacy. In this exploratory longitudinal study, we analysed a wide range of students' leisure activities and their effects on students' academic efficacy. Further, we identified the personality types of students who choose specific leisure activities as a strategy to stress reduction and determined how the use of leisure behaviours affects academic performance among students with different personality types. Students were asked about their personality (Neo-FFI), leisure time behaviour (self-generated items), and academic efficacy (MBI-SS) at three measurement points. Multivariate regression analyses were applied to estimate the moderation effects. In total, 331 students were included in the study. Social activities were found to have a direct effect on academic efficacy. The students' personality moderated the effects of leisure behaviour on efficacy, suggesting a negative effect on academic efficacy for some personality traits. Since our results suggest that the effectiveness of stress management through the use of leisure behaviour depends on the students' personality, universities offering stress management services should pay attention to precise targeting to attract the specific students who might benefit the most from the offered services.

Previous School Bullying-Associated Depression in Chinese College Students: The Mediation of Personality

Previous school bullying was associated with increased risk of depression in students. However, little was known about the role of the Big Five personality traits in this association. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible mediation by the Big Five personality traits in this association in a large group of Chinese college students, and to provide help for educators to prevent students from serious psychological and mental diseases caused by school bullying. Random stratified cluster sampling was used to survey 2152 college students ranging from freshmen to seniors at three universities in Qiqihar city, Heilongjiang Province, China. The risk factors for previous school bullying included gender, living expenses per month, caregivers, parents often quarreling, and divorced parents. Males were more likely to be bullied at school than females. The influencing factors of depression include gender, caregivers, living expenses per month, frequent parents quarreling, and parental divorce. Females were more prone to depression than males. Depression was significantly correlated with all dimensions of school bullying and the Big Five personality traits (p < 0.05). The Big Five personality traits were found to play a significant mediating role between depression and school bullying in up to 45% of cases involving depression. Our major findings highlighted the promising role of personality-based intervention measures in reducing the risk of depression associated with school bullying in Chinese students.

The Relationship between Personality Traits and Compliance with the COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Kosovo

The COVID-19 pandemic urged systematic restrictive measures in order to avoid the spread of the virus. Different countries applied different restrictive measures; however, their efficacy was vastly dependent on the willingness of the people to comply with them. How people perceived the pandemic yielded different adaptive behavior to preventative measures. In this direction, individual characteristics (i.e., personality) seem very important. The current study aimed to map a relationship between personality structure as postulated within the five-factor model of personality with the tendency to comply with preventive measures, as mediated by perceived stress and concerns over coronavirus. In a sample of 3252 adults, we found that the traits of openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness directly and positively predicted compliance. However, concerns over coronavirus partially but positively mediated the relationship between agreeableness and conscientiousness on compliance. Perceived stress, on the other hand, was not a significant mediator, although it was significantly and positively predicted by neuroticism but negatively by extraversion. These findings showed that different personality traits have different direct effects on compliance with preventative measures.

Effects of long-term exercise training on physiological signals and personality traits in women in law enforcement

Law enforcement teams across the globe experience the highest occupational stress and stress-related diseases. Physical exercise and an active lifestyle are recommended as part of their profession to equip them to fight stress and related health adversities. The research is carried out using objective measures of Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Electro Dermal Activity (EDA), Heart Rate Recovery (HRR), and subjective questionnaires. HRV was generated with an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal acquired using NI myRIO 1900 interfaced with the Vernier EKG sensor. HRR was acquired with the help of a Polar chest strap exercise heart rate monitor and EDA acquisition was carried out with Mindfield E-Sense electrodes. Then statistical features are extracted from the collected data, and feed to the AQCNN (Aquila convolution neural network) classifier to predict the stress. Signal analyses were done in Kubios 4.0, Ledalab V3.x in a MATLAB environment. The results pointed out that exercise training is effective in increasing the vagal tone of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and hence improves the recovery potential of the cardiovascular system from stress. The proposed AQCNN method improves the accuracy of 95.12% which is 93.13%, 85.36% and 80.13% better than MANOVA technique, CNN and ML-SVM respectively. The findings have the potential to influence decision-making in the selection and training of recruits in high-stress positions, hence optimizing the cost and time of training by identifying maladaptive recruits early.

Neuroticism as a covariate of cognitive task performance in individuals with tinnitus

Previous studies have shown cognitive task performance to be affected by tinnitus severity, but also that the literature is conflicted. This study sought to identify neuroticism as a possible confound, since severe tinnitus distress is associated with higher levels of neuroticism. A total of 78 participants (39 with and 39 without tinnitus) undertook two cognitive tasks. It was found that when undertaking a Stroop paradigm, controlling for neuroticism rendered previously significant results not significant. It was also found that neuroticism was not a significant covariate for a change blindness task. Gender, age, anxiety, and depression were all controlled for, and future implications for the literature discussed.

Being a parent, emotional stability, and adjustment disorder symptoms in the face of COVID-19

Objective

The current study examines the correlation between emotional stability and symptoms related to adjustment to the stresses related to the pandemic for parents and nonparents at the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Israel.

Background

At the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, governments prohibited public gatherings and demanded social distancing. These challenges may be especially difficult for individuals with low levels of emotional stability as adaptation difficulties may lead to stress-related outcomes, such as adjustment disorder symptoms. Additionally, in the face of a significant external threat and the demand for intensive joint familial time at home, the parental role becomes especially salient.

Methods

Two hundred forty-four Israeli adults filled in self-reported e-version questionnaires regarding emotional stability, adjustment disorder symptoms, and background variables. A cross-sectional design was used to examine the association between emotional stability and adjustment disorder symptoms, as well as the potential moderation by parenting status.

Results

The findings revealed that the levels of emotional stability were negatively correlated with adjustment disorder symptoms, while being a parent mitigated this correlation. This correlation was nonsignificant among parents.

Conclusion and Implications

It appears that the identity salience of parental role in the current stressful situation and its associated strain may have overcome the advantage of emotional stability. The identity of being a parent has the potential to dismiss it. Here, the social role emerges as more forcible than the personality trait. Recommendations for practice are discussed.

Vestibular Disability/Handicap in Fibromyalgia: A Questionnaire Study

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a poorly understood, central pain processing disorder characterized by a broad range of symptoms, such as chronic pain, sleep disruption, chronic fatigue, and psychosomatic symptoms. In addition, recent studies have shown that FM patients also experience dizziness. We aimed to establish a prevalence rate of vestibular symptoms in a population of FM patients through a battery of questionnaires investigating socio-demographic, clinical and psychological characteristics, combined with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and the Situational Vertigo Questionnaire (SVQ). A total of 277 respondents, officially diagnosed with FM, completed the full study, while 80 controls were also included for DHI and SVQ questionnaires. We found that FM participants were significantly affected by vestibular symptoms, which correlated with FM-associated pain and non-pain symptoms. The dizziness reported by FM participants showed peculiar features suggesting an FM-intrinsic mechanism of vestibular dysfunction, possibly linked to migraine and dysautonomia conditions. Correlations between dizziness and depressive mood (or neuroticism), revealed an impact of dizziness on psychological status, leading to depressive reactions and interpersonal difficulties, and possibly involving a noxious, self-sustained stress condition. In conclusion, data showed a manifesting dizziness condition in FM patients that warrants careful clinical attention due to its possible inherent role in the syndrome.

The Stressful Personality: A Meta-Analytical Review of the Relation Between Personality and Stress

The current study presented the first meta-analytic review on the associations between the Big Five personality traits and stress measured under different conceptualizations (stressor exposure, psychological and physiological stress responses) using a total of 1,575 effect sizes drawn from 298 samples. Overall, neuroticism was found to be positively related to stress, whereas extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness were negatively linked to stress. When stress assessed under different conceptualizations was tested, only neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were related to stressor exposure. All of the Big Five personality traits were significantly associated with psychological stress perception, whereas the five personality traits showed weak to null associations with physiological stress response. Further moderation analyses suggested that the associations between personality traits and stress under different conceptualizations were also contingent upon different characteristics of stress, sample, study design, and measures. The results supported the important role of personality traits in individual differences in stress.

Individual Dispositions and Situational Stressors in Competitive Sport: The Role of Stress Mindset in the Cognitive Appraisals Processes

Personality has widely been documented to play an important role in the cognitive appraisal and stress processes. Emerging studies highlight the stress mindset as a new concept that could add to the understanding of individual differences in stress experiences. This study aimed to examine the relative contribution of Big Five personality dimensions and stress mindset in accounting for measures of cognitive appraisals of stress among the competing athletes. The study was conducted on a sample of 125 collegiate athletes of both genders who actively compete in sport. All the participants were regular undergraduate or graduate students at the Faculty of Kinesiology of the University of Zagreb. A questionnaire including demographic information about athletes and their sport career, stress mindset measure (SMM), situation-specific cognitive appraisal scale, sources of stress scale, and personality scale measured by IPIP-50 was administered in an online form using the Google Forms platform. Multivariate hierarchical regression procedures resulted in somewhat different predictor structures accounting for cognitive appraisals of threat, loss, and challenge, used as criterion variables. The set of Big Five personality dimensions and stress mindset measure proved to have a significant additive contribution to the explanation of each of the three cognitive appraisal criterion variances. The study results support the current body of literature suggesting a unique role of the stress mindset construct in explaining individual differences in cognitive stress appraisal among athletes above and beyond general personality dimensions.

Put your feet up: The impact of personality traits, job pressure, and social support on the need for recovery after work

The need for recovery after work (NFR) is an important warning of work-related fatigue. NFR is linked to prolonged work-related efforts and depletion of resources, creating a need for temporary respite from work demands. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between NFR and the five-factor model (FFM), comprising the personality traits of emotional stability (ES), extraversion (E), agreeableness (A), conscientiousness (C), and openness to experience (O). Perceived job pressure and perceived social support were included as mediators. The study was conducted using structural equation modelling (SEM) on cross-sectional data from a sample of 681 participants from several work sectors (N females = 376, N males = 305; M age = 46.9 years; SD = 11.1). The results showed that NFR was affected both directly and indirectly by FFM traits. High ES and high O contributed directly to reduced and increased NFR, respectively. High perceived social support contributed to reduced NFR, while high perceived job pressure contributed to increased NFR. High ES contributed indirectly to reduced NFR through perceived job pressure and social support, high O contributed indirectly to increased NFR through perceived social support, and high E contributed indirectly to increased NFR through perceived job pressure. A and C were not related to NFR. The findings demonstrate that personality traits, especially ES, are firmly related to NFR and highlight the importance of incorporating personality factors into studies of work environmental factors on NFR.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-02950-1.

Sexual Minority Orientation Is Associated With Greater Psychological Impact Due to the COVID-19 Crisis-Evidence From a Longitudinal Cohort Study of Young Swiss Men

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its countermeasures may have had a significant impact on the psychological well-being of specific population subgroups. The present study investigated whether sexual minority men (defined here as attracted partly or exclusively to men) from an ongoing cohort study of young Swiss men experienced different psychological impacts, levels of substance use and addictive behaviors, and to which degree pre-existing vulnerabilities and participants experiences during the crisis might explain these differences.

Methods: An ongoing cohort sample based on the general population of young Swiss men (mean age = 29.07 years; SD = 1.27) was assessed before and during the COVID-19 crisis for depression, stress, sleep quality, substance use and addictive behaviors. Additionally, during the crisis, we assessed its impact in form of fear, isolation and traumatic experiences. Potential associations between these outcomes and sexual orientation (sexual minority vs. heterosexual) were tested using linear regression models. It was additionally estimated to which degree these associations were attenuated if adjusted for differences in mental health, personality and socioeconomic status before the crisis, as well as the experience of the COVID-19 crisis (infection with the virus and changes to work situation).

Results: Compared to heterosexual men, sexual minority men showed higher levels of psychological trauma (b = 0.37 [0.25, 0.49]), fear (b = 0.18 [0.06, 0.30]) and isolation (b = 0.32 [0.20, 0.44]) due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as higher levels of depression (b = 0.31 [0.20, 0.41]) and lower sleep quality (b = −0.13 [−0.24, −0.02]) during the crisis. These differences were to a large degree explained by higher pre-crisis levels of mental health problems and the personality dimension of neuroticism-anxiety. Sexual minority men showed higher overall levels of substance use and addictive behaviors, but these differences were already present before the crisis.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 crisis may have worsened pre-existing vulnerabilities in sexual minority men, leading to its greater psychological impact on them than on heterosexual men. Reducing minority stress due to sexual orientation may help not only to improve mental health among important proportions of the population but also to reduce their vulnerability to crises. Services offering psychological support to sexual minorities may need to be reinforced during crises.

Personality antecedents of challenge and threat appraisal

It has been suggested in personality and emotion theories that traits can influence emotional states and behaviour through interpretive processes such as cognitive appraisals. The present study investigated the relationships between Big Five personality dimensions and the cognitive appraisal processes associated with challenge and threat states in a large sample of municipal firefighters. The study assessed the Big Five traits and cognitive appraisal tendencies using a new measure of challenge-threat appraisal that measured appraisals directly and aggregated both across stressful situations and within six specific stressor domains. The results indicated that the Big Five traits related to overall challenge-threat appraisal and their accompanying primary and secondary components in unique and compelling ways, with some traits related more strongly to primary appraisals of situational demands and others related more to secondary appraisals of coping abilities. Overall, the results provide insights into how personality traits are associated with stress-related emotional experiences.

The Relationship Between Perceived Stress and Subjective Cognitive Decline During the COVID-19 Epidemic

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, fear of disease and its consequences, recommended lifestyle changes, and severe restrictions set by governments acted as stressors and affected people's mood, emotions, mental health, and wellbeing. Many studies conducted during this crisis focused on affective and physiological responses to stress, but few studies examined how the crisis affected cognition. The present cross-sectional study examined the relationship between physiological, affective, and cognitive responses to the epidemic. In an online survey conducted at the height of the first wave of the epidemic in Slovenia (April 15-25, 2020), 830 Slovenian residents aged 18-85 years reported the effects of stressors (confinement, problems at home, problems at work, lack of necessities, and increased workload), experienced emotions, generalized anxiety, perceived stress, changes in health, fatigue and sleep quality, and perceived changes in cognition during the epidemic. Risk factors for stress (neuroticism, vulnerability, general health, gender, and age) were also recorded. We hypothesized that stressors and stress risk factors will be related to subjective cognitive decline, with negative emotions, generalized anxiety, perceived stress, and physical symptoms acting as mediator variables. On average, the results showed a mild subjective cognitive decline during the epidemic. In structural equation modeling, 34% of its variance was predicted by the mediator variables, with negative emotions and physical symptoms having the largest contribution. Stress risk factors were predictably related to the four mediator variables. Among the stressors, confinement showed the strongest effect on the four mediator variables, implying the importance of thoughtful communication about necessary restrictive measures during emergency circumstances. The results of this study indicate that the possibility of altered cognitive function should be considered when planning work and study activities during the epidemic.

Towards an understanding of how stress and resources affect the nonmedical use of prescription drugs for performance enhancement among employees

Based on assumptions of the Job Demands-Resources model, we investigated employees’ willingness to use prescription drugs such as methylphenidate and modafinil for nonmedical purposes to enhance their cognitive functioning as a response to strain (i.e., perceived stress) that is induced by job demands (e.g., overtime, emotional demands, shift work, leadership responsibility). We also examined the direct and moderating effects of resources (e.g., emotional stability, social and instrumental social support) in this process. We utilized data from a representative survey of employees in Germany (N = 6454) encompassing various job demands and resources, levels of perceived stress, and willingness to use nonmedical drugs for performance enhancement purposes. By using Structural Equation Models, we found that job demands (such as overtime and emotional demands) and a scarcity of resources (such as emotional stability) increased strain, consequently directly and indirectly increasing the willingness to use prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement. Moreover, emotional stability reduced the effect of certain demands on strain. These results delivered new insights into mechanisms behind nonmedical prescription drug use that can be used to prevent such behaviour and potential negative health consequences.

On the Rocky Road to Independence: Big Five Personality Traits and Locus of Control in Polish Primary School Students during Transition into Early Adolescence

This article reports the results of a survey of 455 Polish primary school sixth-graders experiencing changes in the education system. The goal of the study was to identify the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, measured with the picture-based personality survey for children (PBPS-C) and locus of control, determined using the locus of control questionnaire (LOCQ). The results lead to the conclusion that primary school students do not have an established locus of control of either success or failure. There are also no significant differences between boys and girls in the way they interpret the causes of situations and events that happen to them. Boys, compared to girls, scored significantly higher on traits related to seeking and enjoying the company of others. On the other hand, girls exhibited significantly higher levels of traits responsible for increased anxiety than boys. The personality traits that correlated the strongest with locus of control were Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness. A regression model showed that locus of control of success was significantly affected by two traits: Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Locus of control of failure was significantly predicted by Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness (positively), and Neuroticism (negatively). Regression model with gender as a moderator of relationships between personality traits and locus of control turned out to be insignificant.

Interaction of developmental factors and ordinary stressful life events on brain structure in adults

An interplay of early environmental and genetic risk factors with recent stressful life events (SLEs) in adulthood increases the risk for adverse mental health outcomes. The interaction of early risk and current SLEs on brain structure has hardly been investigated. Whole brain voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed in N = 786 (64.6% female, mean age = 33.39) healthy subjects to identify correlations of brain clusters with commonplace recent SLEs. Genetic and early environmental risk factors, operationalized as those for severe psychopathology (i.e., polygenic scores for neuroticism, childhood maltreatment, urban upbringing and paternal age) were assessed as modulators of the impact of SLEs on the brain. SLEs were negatively correlated with grey matter volume in the left medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC, FWE p = 0.003). This association was present for both, positive and negative, life events. Cognitive-emotional variables, i.e., neuroticism, perceived stress, trait anxiety, intelligence, and current depressive symptoms did not account for the SLE-mOFC association. Further, genetic and environmental risk factors were not correlated with grey matter volume in the left mOFC cluster and did not affect the association between SLEs and left mOFC grey matter volume. The orbitofrontal cortex has been implicated in stress-related psychopathology, particularly major depression in previous studies. We find that SLEs are associated with this area. Important early life risk factors do not interact with current SLEs on brain morphology in healthy subjects.

The Influence of Personality, Resilience, and Alexithymia on Mental Health During COVID-19 Pandemic

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries worldwide have put lockdowns in place to prevent the virus from spreading. Evidence shows that lockdown measures can affect mental health; it is, therefore, important to identify the psychological characteristics making individuals more vulnerable. The present study aimed, first, to identify, through a cluster analysis, the psychological attributes that characterize individuals with similar psychological responses to the COVID-19 home confinement; second, to investigate whether different psychological characteristics, such as personality traits, alexithymia, and resilience, specifically influence anxiety, stress, and depression, depending on the scope of the confinement. We analyzed data from 393 participants who completed an online survey on their experiences during two different phases of the Italian lockdown, characterized by more or less strict measures of confinement. Two clusters were identified which included participants reporting a better (+ER) and worse (−ER) emotional response to the lockdown, respectively. Individuals in the −ER group showed lower emotional stability, resilience, and higher alexithymia. Moreover, even if lifting part of the restrictions decreased psychological distress among all participants, a reduction in perceived stress was observed only among individuals with high resilience. Finally, personality traits, alexithymia, and resilience differently affected depression, anxiety, and stress. Our results suggest that different psychological interventions should be planned depending on the context: mental health professionals should focus on enhancing the individuals’ coping strategies to alleviate stress in emergencies, while long-term intervention aiming at alleviating anxiety and depressive symptoms should focus on alexithymic tendencies and personality constructs.

Association between Caregiver Neurotic Personality Trait and Elder Abuse: Investigating the Moderating Role of Change in the Level of Caregiver Perceived Burden

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether caregiver neuroticism affects the level of elder abuse and whether changes of caregiver perceived burden alter this relationship.

METHODS

Using 2-year longitudinal data, a consecutive sample of 800 Chinese family caregivers and their care recipients with dementia were recruited from the geriatric and neurological departments of 3 grade-A hospitals in the People's Republic of China. All the participatory dyads were assessed between September 2015 and February 2016 and followed up for 2 years.

RESULTS

Significant increase in the prevalence was found for physical abuse, psychological abuse, and caregiver neglect. Caregiver neuroticism was associated with an increased level of physical and psychological abuse over the 2-year observation period; however, change in the level of caregiver perceived burden altered this association. Specifically, the absence and decrease of perceived care burden prevented an increase in the level of physical and psychological abuse among caregivers high in neuroticism. Although caregiver neuroticism was also associated with an increased level of caregiver neglect, caregiver perceived burden did not appear to have an impact on this relationship.

DISCUSSION

This study provided evidence that caregiver neuroticism was associated with an increased level of physical and psychological abuse, while changes in the level of caregiver perceived burden may alter this trajectory. These findings suggest the importance of implementing caregiver-centered intervention and prevention programs for elder abuse by specifically targeting caregivers' behaviors related to their neurotic personality trait and cognitive appraisal of caregiving stressors associated with such personality traits.

A brief positive psychological intervention prior to a potentially stressful task facilitates more challenge-like cardiovascular reactivity in high trait anxious individuals

When confronted with stress, anxious individuals tend to evaluate the demands of an upcoming encounter as higher than the available resources, thus, indicating threat evaluations. Conversely, evaluating available resources as higher than the demands signals challenge. Both types of evaluations have been related to specific cardiovascular response patterns with higher cardiac output relative to peripheral resistance indicating challenge and higher peripheral resistance relative to cardiac output signaling threat. The aim of this research was to evaluate whether a brief positive psychological exercise (best possible selves intervention) prior to a potentially stress‐evoking task shifted the cardiovascular profile in trait anxious individuals from a threat to a challenge type. We randomly assigned 74 participants to either a best possible selves or a control exercise prior to performing a sing a song stress task and assessed their level of trait anxiety. Cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were continuously recorded through baseline, preparation, stress task, and recovery, respectively, as well as self‐reported affect. Trait anxiety was related to higher CO in the best possible selves group and lower CO in the control group. While high trait anxious individuals in the control group showed increasing TPR reactivity, they exhibited a nonsignificant change in the best possible selves group. Moreover, in the latter group a stress‐related decrease in positive affect in high trait anxious participants was prevented. Findings suggest that concentrating on strengths and positive assets prior to a potentially stressful encounter could trigger a more adaptive coping in trait anxious individuals.

According to the biopsychosocial model anxious individuals may evaluate motivated performance tasks as threatening, resulting in stronger vascular than cardiac responding. We found that a positive writing exercise (best possible selves‐intervention) prior to a laboratory stress task led to a more challenge‐type response profile (i.e., higher cardiac output relative to peripheral resistance) in trait anxious individuals, suggesting that positive psychological micro‐interventions could foster more adaptive coping.

The importance of appraisal in stressor–well-being relationships and the examination of personality traits as boundary conditions

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of appraisals in three stressor–well-being relationships: (1) the mediating role of challenge appraisals in the relationship between daily skill demands and daily work engagement, (2) the mediating role of hindrance appraisals in the relationship between daily interruptions and daily depletion and (3) the mediating role of threat appraisals in the relationship between daily emotional demands and daily anxiety. We also examined the moderating influence of conscientiousness on the daily skill demands–challenge appraisal relationship, the moderating role of extraversion on the daily interruptions–hindrance appraisal relationship and the moderating influence of neuroticism on the daily emotional demands–threat appraisal relationship. Supplemental analyses also examined the moderating influence of the aforementioned personality traits on the respective direct effects of stressors on well-being outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

We tested our hypotheses using a 5-days experience sampling design in a sample of 114 working adults and employed multilevel modeling.

Findings

All hypothesized mediating mechanisms were supported, however, the majority of moderation hypotheses were not supported.

Originality/value

We sought to extend the relatively recent advancement in the challenge–hindrance framework to provide additional evidence of the utility of distinguishing between challenge, hindrance and threat stressors. Although not supported, this is the one of the first papers to test the moderating influence of personality traits on the stressor–appraisal relationship.

Personality and perceived stress during COVID-19 pandemic: Testing the mediating role of perceived threat and efficacy

Prolonged stress is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes. Understanding the mediators between personality and stress is critical for developing effective stress management interventions during a pandemic. Our study explored whether perceptions of threat from COVID-19 and efficacy to follow government recommendations for preventing COVID-19 would mediate the relationships between personality traits (e.g., neuroticism, conscientiousness-goal-striving, extroversion-activity and sociability) and perceived stress. In an online survey of a representative sample of Canadian adults (n = 1055), we found that higher neuroticism and extroversion were associated with higher levels of stress during the pandemic and a greater increase in stress levels compared to levels before the pandemic. Perceived threat and efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between neuroticism and stress, which suggested that individuals with higher neuroticism experienced higher levels of stress due to higher levels of perceived threat and lower levels of efficacy. Perceived threat did not mediate the relationship between extroverts and stress, which suggested that the source of stress may stem from elsewhere (e.g., inability to socialize). Our findings highlighted that personality traits could be an important factor in identifying stress-prone individuals during a pandemic and that stress management interventions need to be personality specific.

The Road to Becoming a Psychologist: Indicators of Success and Hardship during the University Years

In order to become a full-fledged psychologist, one must undertake a long, demanding, and quite difficult journey in academia. The academic journey holds a promise of delivering knowledge, interesting theories, and strategies on helping those who need psychological assessment and/or treatment. However, the constant expectation of keeping up with the material, of succeeding in tests and exams, and of preparing to proceed to the next educational level can be daunting and exhausting. In line with the topic of this special issue, this paper addresses factors contributing to academic success at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels of psychology. Utilizing the available literature on the Big Five personality classification scheme, high conscientiousness was found to be the most consistent predictor of success, although curiously, this relationship was only found to be reliable at the undergraduate level. Less robust findings included high agreeableness and low neuroticism as predictors of general academic success in all tertiary levels of education. The importance of mentorship figures in psychology, and a highlight of its lack of widespread implementation at the undergraduate level, are also addressed. Additionally, we discuss the negative implications of the impostor phenomenon and of loneliness, which students at all levels may experience as common barriers to scholastic success in psychology. Following a discussion of each factor as outlined above, there is a brief literature review regarding ways that its constraining effects may be limited or its positive effects possibly enhanced.

The Many Faces of Stress: Three Factors that Predict Physical Illness in Young Adults

Three studies examined how various forms of stress uniquely contribute to physical illness. We compared negative affect and perceived stress in Study 1, neuroticism and perceived stress in Study 2, and negative affect, neuroticism, and perceived stress in Study 3. We also controlled for health-related covariates (i.e., exercise, nutrition, substance use, and BMI). In all three studies (ns = 271, 577, and 300), participants completed online surveys for course credit. The results of Study 1 demonstrated that both negative affect and perceived stress predicted physical illness. In Study 2, neuroticism and perceived stress each predicted illness symptoms, and an additional interaction between neuroticism and perceived stress, were found. In Study 3, where all three stress factors were included, only negative affect predicted illness symptoms. Taken together, these results suggest that negative affect uniquely explains most of the variance in physical illness symptoms while controlling for other forms of stress.

Associations of chronotype, Big Five, and emotional competences with perceived stress in university students

This study aimed to investigate the associations between individual difference factors (chronotype, Big Five, emotional competences) and perceived stress in French university students. In total, 362 students agreed to take part (M _age = 20.19 ± 1.75 years). Participants completed the Caen Chronotype Questionnaire, Big Five Inventory, the Profile of Emotional Competences, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Results showed that chronotype amplitude (+), eveningness chronotype (+), neuroticism (+), conscientiousness (-), and intrapersonal emotional competences (-) were important for perceived stress. These findings have theoretical and practical implications in terms of identifying students who might benefit most from stress management interventions.

Suicide and associated psychosocial correlates among university students in Taiwan: A mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

The trend of suicide rates among young adults has been increasing worldwide. The study aimed to identify the suicide risks and associated psychosocial factors in a large university in Taiwan.

METHODS

This is a mixed-methods study using both questionnaire survey and two open-ended questions for the exploration of qualitative data. An online survey was conducted between two periods of the same semester in 2018 to collect different sources of stress and other suicide correlates. The measurement scales included the 9-item Concise Mental Health Checklist, the University Stress Screening Tool in Taiwan and the Chinese Maudsley Personality Inventory. The participants were required to fulfill two open-ended questions about stress experience and depressive symptoms in the previous month in the end of the questionnaire, which was analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 857 university students were recruited (67.9% female participants). Over a quarter of participants were under poor mental health status and more than 60% experienced stressful events in the prior year. A higher suicide risk and neurotic trait was noticed compared to the general public. These results were consistent with the qualitative findings.

CONCLUSION

While identifying several risk factors that cumulatively conduced to higher suicide risks, neuroticism served as a key element in the increased suicide risk among the university students. Suicide prevention strategies for university students should highlight stress management for those with neurotic trait and early suicide risk identification.

Stress and the vestibular system

In this chapter we review the existing literature regarding the interactions between stress and the mechanisms that maintain balance. Evidence suggests that the interplay between neuro-endocrine and psychological factors may have a significant role in balance function. For example, in healthy individuals vestibular stimulation has been shown to trigger the stress response as indicated by increased blood cortisol levels, whereas in patients with vestibular pathology factors such as resilience and anxiety may be the key focus of interactions with stress. Critically, factors such as anxiety are known to influence clinical outcomes, despite our mechanistic understanding of these processes remaining in their infancy.

Personality and anxiety are related to health-related quality of life in unruptured intracranial aneurysm patients selected for non-intervention: A cross sectional study

Background

Personality traits and mental health problems have been previously reported in unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA) patients; however, few studies have clarified the relations between these variables and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study was designed to characterize the personality traits, HRQoL and mental health of patients with UIA and to evaluate whether personality has an influence on HRQoL and whether this is mediated by the patients' emotional symptoms.

Methods

Sixty-three patients with UIAs (mean age 62.6 years, 83.9% women) answered questionnaires for depression, anxiety, HRQoL and personality traits between June 2016 and May 2019.

Results

Eight percent of the sample had depression, and 27.4% had anxiety. Participants showed high levels of responsibility, kindness and neuroticism and low levels of extraversion and openness. HRQoL scores were normal compared with the Colombian population. Structural equation analysis showed that patients' HRQoL was negatively affected by anxiety levels and that the latter are associated with the patient's personality, where neuroticism is directly associated with symptomatology and inversely associated with extraversion.

Conclusions

The results of this study showed the importance of personality and emotional symptoms in the HRQoL of UIA patients. These results are important for developing strategies for psychological counseling in patients with UIAs.

Personality traits and risk of lifetime asthma diagnosis

OBJECTIVE

Traits defined by the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality have been linked to physical health, leading to treatment implications and psychophysiological conceptualizations. Previous studies have reported a consistent link between neuroticism and asthma. This study aims to reinforce this finding and further its scope by looking at all five personality traits and lifetime asthma diagnosis.

METHODS

The current study examined associations between personality traits and lifetime asthma diagnosis in a sample of 3993 participants and, for the purposes of replication, a second sample of 1692 participant siblings. Personality was measured at a single time point in adulthood (mean age: 53 years), while asthma diagnosis by a medical professional was self-reported across three time points over a range of 54 years. A binary logistic regression was performed to examine the association between FFM personality traits and the likelihood of having endorsed asthma at any time point.

RESULTS

Higher scores in the traits of neuroticism (β = 0.024, p = .03, OR = 1.025) and openness (β = 0.041, p < .001, OR = 1.042) were associated with increased risk of lifetime asthma diagnosis, while the trait of conscientiousness (β = -0.034, p = .009, OR = 0.967) was associated with decreased risk of lifetime asthma diagnosis. The associations with neuroticism and openness were replicated in the sibling sample.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that research into certain personality traits might help us better understand psychophysiological connections. Neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness might be salient factors in developing asthma education and treatment.

The NEO-FFI domain of openness to experience moderates ketamine response in treatment resistant depression

BACKGROUND

There are many putative mechanisms by which ketamine has its effect and many unanswered questions about risks and benefits of long-term ketamine therapy. A research imperative is the identification of predictors of response to intravenous ketamine, especially a sustained response to maintenance ketamine. Temperament is an inherited aspect of personality and is a predictive factor for outcome in treatment resistant depressed (TRD) patients.

METHODS

We analyzed which domains of personality impacted initial and sustained ketamine response. Utilizing the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) on 125 participants with TRD, we tested (1) whether the degree of neuroticism predicted initial and/or sustained response to ketamine; and (2) whether extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness had an impact on response.

RESULTS

Our findings confirmed previous literature that elevated neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and low extraversion was the pattern of our TRD population regardless of response. Openness was the only factor to significantly predict sustained treatment outcome.

LIMITATIONS

Our findings are limited by the lack of placebo control, small sample size, non- standardized infusion intervals, polypharmacy rather than ketamine monotherapy, a select TRD population in that they had all failed ECT, and a primarily Caucasian population.

CONCLUSIONS

Our registry adds to the literature that factors making up temperament may have predictive value in regard to treatment response, specifically the outcome for TRD patients receiving long-term ketamine infusion therapy. If confirmed, assessing for Openness could reduce inappropriate exposure to ketamine with its attendant unknown long-term risks.

Interdependent self-construal modulates the adrenocortical stress response in the socially evaluated cold-pressor test

Previous studies suggested that the Trier social stress test (TSST) induced a higher cortisol stress response in individuals with high interdependent self-construal (InterSC) as compared to those with low InterSC, and that participants' perception of social evaluative threat mediated the association between InterSC and cortisol stress response. To further examine if individuals with high InterSC exhibit a strong psychological stress response independent of the stress paradigm, the current study investigated the stress response of individuals with high InterSC in a socially evaluated cold-pressor test (SECPT) paradigm, which has also been shown to reliably increase hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity with a social evaluative element. Fifty-five healthy participants (29 females; mean age  =  20.55 years) completed the Self-Construal Scale and their salivary cortisol samples were collected at 0, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after waking up on a weekday morning. Participants' cardiovascular and adrenocortical stress responses in the SECPT were also measured while they immersed their hand in ice water, and they were observed by the experimenter and videotaped during this task. Our results indicated that participants with high InterSC showed a higher level of cortisol awakening response (CAR). Additionally, they perceived higher levels of social evaluative threat and exhibited higher saliva cortisol response to the SECPT. Taken together, the present findings and those obtained from previous studies suggest a significant and reliable role of InterSC in regulating biological and psychological stress responses.

Facets of openness to experience are associated with cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation across both active and passive stress exposures

Research suggests the personality trait of Openness to Experience is associated with cardiovascular stress processes. It is unknown if the underlying facets of Openness are associated with cardiovascular responsivity, and whether adaptation is evident across active and passive stress. The objective of this study was to determine if the facets of Openness are related to cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation across active and passive stress exposures. Personality measures and continuous cardiovascular data from sixty-six female adults across a protocol of active and passive stress tasks were collated. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the facet of Feelings was associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity to active stress. Examination of cardiovascular adaption revealed that the facet of Feelings was positively associated with SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) adaptation, whereas the facet of Actions demonstrated a negative association. Supplementary analyses revealed the significant effects for Feelings were not reliant on the remaining Openness facets, whereas the significant effects for Actions were. No significant effects emerged for the higher-order trait of Openness. These findings suggest that the underlying facet of Feelings is associated with active stress reactivity, with the facets of Feelings and Actions appearing to be of importance to cardiovascular adaptation. This study is the first to demonstrate personality effects on cardiovascular adaptation across active and passive stress. Attending to the facets of personality traits may provide a more precise understanding of the personality effects on cardiovascular stress psychophysiology.

The relationship between challenge and threat states and anaerobic power, core affect, perceived exertion, and self-focused attention during a competitive sprint cycling task

This study investigated the relationship between challenge and threat states and anaerobic power, core affect, perceived exertion, and self-focused attention during a competitive sprint cycling task. Thirty-five participants completed familiarization, baseline, and pressurized Wingate tests. Before the pressurized test, challenge and threat states were measured via self-report (demand resource evaluation score) and cardiovascular reactivity (challenge/threat index). After the pressurized test, relative peak power, core affect, perceived exertion, and self-focused attention were assessed. Evaluating the pressurized test as more of a challenge (i.e., coping resources match or exceed task demands) was associated with greater increases in relative peak power (vs. the baseline test) and more positive affect, as well as marginally lower perceived exertion and less self-focused attention. However, challenge/threat index failed to predict any variable. Although the findings raise questions about the value of the physiological pattern underlying a challenge state for anaerobic power, they highlight the benefits of evaluating a physically-demanding task as a challenge.