How Five-Factor Personality Traits Affect Psychological Distress and Depression? Results from a Large Population-Based Study

The influence of upward social comparison on social network sites on middle school students' depression: A two-wave multiple mediation model

There is a lack of longitudinal data on the relationship between upward social comparison on social network sites (SNSs) and depression and its underlying mechanisms. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between upward social comparison on social network sites and depression and analyze the mediating effects of self-concept clarity and self-esteem in this relationship. We employed a two-wave longitudinal design among 1179 Chinese middle school students. The results indicated that : upward social comparison on SNSs predicted middle school students' depression; Self-concept clarity and self-esteem sequentially mediated the relationship between upward social comparison on SNSs and middle school students' subsequent depression. These results suggested that three types of interventions could be effectively used to decrease the risk of depression among middle school students.

The bidirectional relationships of optimism and pessimism with depressive symptoms in adulthood - A 15-year follow-up study from Northern Finland Birth Cohorts

BACKGROUND

Low optimism and high pessimism have predicted depressive symptoms in several studies, but the associations in the other direction, from depressive symptoms to future optimism and pessimism, have been unexplored. We examined bidirectional associations of optimism and pessimism with depressive symptoms in adulthood.

METHODS

A population-based sample of 4011 Finnish adults (55 % women) was analyzed with a 15-year prospective follow-up period from age 31 to age 46. Optimism and pessimism were measured with the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and depressive symptoms were measured with the Symptom Checklist-25. Temporal associations were investigated with cross-lagged panel models.

RESULTS

According to the model fit indices (RMSEA < 0.04, CFI ≥ 0.97) optimism and pessimism had bidirectional relationships with depressive symptoms: optimism predicted lower depressive symptoms (β = -0.09, p < .001), and depressive symptoms predicted lower optimism (β = -0.10, p < .001) in the follow-up. Also, pessimism predicted higher depressive symptoms (β = 0.08, p < .001), and depressive symptoms predicted higher pessimism (β = 0.09, p < .001) in the follow-up. In the participants with clinically high depressive symptoms at age 31, the predictive associations from optimism and pessimism to depressive symptoms remained, but associations in the other direction were attenuated.

LIMITATIONS

The follow-up study included only two time points with a 15-year time gap, which does not consider the possible fluctuation in the study variables between the measured times.

CONCLUSION

Dispositional optimism and pessimism may have bidirectional relationships with depressive symptoms in adulthood when the baseline depressive symptoms are below the clinical level.

A network analysis of disordered eating symptoms, big-five personality traits, and psychological distress in Chinese adults

OBJECTIVE

Previous studies have revealed associations between disordered eating symptoms, big-five personality traits, and psychological distress. However, limited research has explored these relationships as a network, including their interconnections, and even less has done so in non-Western populations. We employed network analysis to investigate the co-occurrence of disordered eating symptoms, big-five personality traits, and psychological distress in Chinese adults.

METHOD

A sample of 500 Chinese adults (256 men) completed measures assessing big-five personality traits, psychological distress, and disordered eating symptoms. The network of personality traits, psychological distress, and disordered eating symptoms was estimated, including its central and bridge nodes.

RESULTS

The central nodes in the network were the facets of openness (like adventure), extraversion (like going to social and recreational parties), and disordered eating symptoms (dissatisfaction with body weight or shape). Moreover, certain facets of neuroticism (always worrying something bad will happen), psychological distress (feeling worthless), and an inverse facet of extraversion (bored by parties with lots of people) were identified as essential bridge nodes in maintaining the structure of the network.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that personality traits (e.g., openness and extraversion) and body dissatisfaction are important in maintaining the network in a community sample of Chinese adults. While future replication is needed, findings from this study suggest that individuals with negative self-thinking, predisposed neuroticism, and extraversion may be at risk of developing disordered eating symptoms.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The present study contributes to existing knowledge by employing a network perspective to examine the associations between disordered eating symptoms, big-five personality traits, and psychological distress in a Chinese adult community sample. The identified facets of neuroticism and extraversion and symptoms of psychological distress may be worthy of targeting in the prevention and treatment of disordered eating in the Chinese context.

The associations between personality traits and mental health in people with and without asthma

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the current study is to investigate the associations between personality traits associated with mental health in people with asthma and compare it with people without asthma.

METHODS

Data came from UKHLS with 3929 patients with asthma with a mean age of 49.19 (S.D. = 15.23) years old (40.09 % males) and 22,889 healthy controls (42.90 % males) with a mean age of 45.60 (S.D. = 17.23) years old. First, the current study investigated the difference in Big Five personality traits and mental health between people with and without asthma using a predictive normative modeling approach with one-sample t-tests. Second, a hierarchical regression accompanied by two multiple regressions was used to determine how personality traits may relate to people with and without asthma differently.

RESULTS

The current study found asthma patients have significantly higher Neuroticism, higher Openness, lower Conscientiousness, higher Extroversion, and worse mental health. Asthma status significantly moderated the association between Neuroticism and mental health with this relationship being stronger in people with asthma. Moreover, Neuroticism was positively related to worse mental health and Conscientiousness and Extraversion were negatively associated with worse mental health in people with and without asthma. However, Openness was negatively associated with worse mental health in people without asthma but not in people with asthma.

LIMITATIONS

The limitations of the current study include cross-sectional designs, self-reported measured, and limited generalizability to other countries.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians and health professionals should use findings from the current study to come up with prevention and interaction programs that promote mental health based on personality traits in asthma patients.

Is inconsistent reporting of self-assessed health persistent and systematic? Evidence from the UKHLS

In this paper, we investigate whether individuals provide consistent responses to self-assessed health (SAH) questions in the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), and the potential implications for empirical research in case of inconsistent reporting behaviour. We capitalise on an opportunity in the UKHLS, asking respondents the same SAH question twice: with a self-completion and an open interview mode, within the same household interview over four waves. We estimate multivariate models to explore which individual characteristics are systematically relevant for the likelihood and frequency of inconsistent reporting. About 11-24% of those reported a particular SAH category in the self-completion reported inconsistently in the open interview. The probability of inconsistency is systematically associated with individual's demographics, education, income, employment status, cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The same characteristics also predict the frequency of inconsistent reporting across four UKHLS waves. Analysis of the implications of reporting inconsistencies shows no impact of SAH measurement on the association between income and health. A set of dimensions of people's physiological and biological health, captured using biomarkers, is associated equally with both SAH measures, suggesting that the interview mode does not play a role in the relationship between SAH and more objective health measures.

Association between intimate partner psychological violence and psychological distress among nurses: The role of personality traits and social support

AIM

This study proposes investigating the risk and protective factors of intimate partner (IP) psychological violence and psychological distress to better promote psychological wellbeing for nurses and health outcomes for patients.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study was carried out chiefly in Guangdong, Hunan, and Shaanxi provinces, in the east, central, and west of the Chinese economic areas, respectively. It was conducted in October 2021 using convenience sampling. A total of 843 nurses were eligible for the final analysis. Single-factor linear regression models were used to identify potential factors associated with IP psychological violence and psychological distress. In addition, the structural equation model was used to explore the role of personality traits and social support in the association between IP psychological violence and psychological distress.

RESULTS

The predictors for the score of IP psychological violence among nurses were participants' married status, contact frequency with a partner, perceived past-year psychological and physical violence experience, the alcohol consumption of partners, and personality traits and social support of partners. Moreover, the alcohol consumption of participants, the past-year experience of IP psychological violence, the score of psychological violence, personality traits, social support, and the personality traits of partners were associated factors affecting the psychological distress of nurses. In the structural model, the personality trait of partners had a direct pathway to psychological violence and social support. The results demonstrated that psychological violence significantly increased psychological distress.

CONCLUSION

Personality traits and social support are essential factors influencing the relationship between IP psychological violence and psychological distress.

IMPACT

The findings of this study emphasize the possibility and importance of identification and intervention for reducing IP psychological violence based on personality traits and social support.

A multilevel analysis of the role personality play between work organization conditions and psychological distress

BACKGROUND

Psychological distress in the workplace is usually attributed to work-related variables as well as non-work-related variables. Individuals working in the same organization can differ in terms of their appraisal of work-related stressors and coping strategies used to face them. The present study aims to evaluate the moderating role personality plays between work organizations conditions and psychological distress in a large sample of Canadian participants working in various occupations and workplaces.

METHODS

Multilevel regression analyses were conducted on a sample that followed a hierarchical structure with workers (N1 = 1958) nested in workplaces (N2 = 63). The direct contribution of workplace and personality was tested in a variance component model as a first step. Following this initial step, we introduced interaction variables by blocks of 11. Those interaction variables refer to each interaction combined with a specific personality variable.

RESULTS

Psychological demands, number of hours worked, job insecurity, neuroticism, and agreeableness were associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Inversely, decision authority, job recognition, self-esteem, locus of control were associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Lastly, agreeableness played a moderating role between low social support garnered from one's supervisor and psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS

To intervene on work-related variables, organizations could reduce psychological demands, minimize the number of hours worked through job redesign, allow teleworking and encourage work schedule flexibility. To reduce job insecurity, organizations could explicitly communicate future organizational plans. In the same vein, decision authority could be targeted by reducing hierarchical steps and increasing autonomy. Lastly, the results pertaining to agreeableness stand in contrast with those of previous studies. We assumed that workers scoring high on agreeableness tend to put themselves last and please others first. These tendencies could make them more susceptible to health issues. With that said, work environments still need workers who are agreeable and nice to be around. To prevent high levels of agreeableness leading to psychological distress, training and information workshops are recommended. Those include stress management interventions and workshops pertaining to time management and relaxation techniques.

Personality Profiles and Personal Factors Associated with Psychological Distress in Chinese Nurses

BACKGROUND

A high prevalence of psychological distress is observed in nurses due to multiple occupational stressors. Personality traits and personal factors are important factors that lead to psychological distress. The personality profile reflects a combination of personality traits; however, the relationship between personality profiles and personal factors that affect psychological distress among nurses has not been defined.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in November 2020 in China. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants. Latent profile analysis was used to identify personality profiles of nurses based on the big-five personality traits. Single-factor analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine the factors affecting psychological distress. The structural equation model was used to verify the hypothetical model linking personality profiles, self-efficacy, psychological resilience, and coping style with psychological distress.

RESULTS

A total of 953 Chinese nurses (934 female) with a mean (S.D.) age of 32.8 (8.6) years were recruited. Personality profiles identified were negative, normative, and positive. A personality profile may predict psychological distress directly and indirectly through self-efficacy, psychological resilience, and coping style.

LIMITATIONS

No complex sampling limits the representativeness of Chinese nurses. External factors affecting psychological distress were not investigated.

CONCLUSION

Nurses with anegative personality profile had a higher prevalence of psychological distress. This study establishes the importance of personality profile assessment to identify nurses at higher risk of psychological distress. It suggests that interventions should be based on self-efficacy, psychological resilience, and coping style as potential management strategies.