Mapping the terrain: a scoping review of empirical studies on the big five personality traits and QoL in China

The relationship between personality traits and Quality of Life (QoL) has garnered increasing scholarly attention, particularly within the context of China. This scoping review synthesizes existing literature on the connection between the Big Five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) and QoL among the Chinese population. The review explores correlations, measurement instruments, and theoretical frameworks employed in these studies. The study's significance lies in the profound implications for healthcare policies, organizational behavior, and social welfare programs in China, where rapid social and economic changes impact well-being. Investigating personality traits' impact on QoL can inform tailored interventions benefiting diverse Chinese subpopulations. This review addresses three primary research questions: (1) How do the Big Five personality traits correlate with QoL in different Chinese subpopulations, and what are the mediating or moderating factors? (2) What instruments assess these traits and QoL in the Chinese cultural context, and how are they validated? (3) What theoretical or disciplinary frameworks guide this research in China? Following a systematic PRISMA-ScR framework and a customized "C-BFQLC" protocol, the study identified 170 relevant documents. After rigorous screening, ten studies met the inclusion criteria, constituting 5.03% of the initial records. This scoping review critically examines the interplay between the Big Five personality traits and QoL in China, a context marked by rapid socioeconomic changes and cultural diversity. Employing a systematic approach guided by the PRISMA-ScR framework and our unique 'C-BFQLC' protocol, we meticulously analyzed 170 documents, selecting nine that met our rigorous inclusion criteria. Despite the emerging nature of this research area in the Chinese context, our study reveals significant insights into how individual personality traits influence various dimensions of well-being. The implications of these findings are profound, extending beyond academic discourse to inform healthcare policies, organizational behavior, and social welfare programs in China. Our review not only offers a comprehensive synthesis of the current research landscape but also identifies critical gaps in the literature. It emphasizes the urgent need for further culturally nuanced research to understand the complex dynamics of personality traits and QoL in China. This work lays a foundational framework for future investigations and the development of tailored interventions aimed at enhancing the well-being of diverse Chinese populations, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and specific occupational groups.

The Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale May Be Simplified and Diagnostically Improved: The Same Prevalence but Different Severity and Risk Factors of Food Addiction among Female and Male Students

The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) is the most commonly used scale for measuring food addiction (FA). The previous approach to the YFAS and its subsequent versions assumed dichotomization of items, separating addiction symptoms and clinical significance items, and factorial validity testing on a subset of items. In this paper, we discuss the drawbacks associated with these procedures. In addition, we present a different analytical approach to investigate the validity of the modified YFAS (mYFAS) along with an alternative scoring method that overcomes limitations related to the previous approach. After establishing the structure of the mYFAS, we investigated the potential antecedents and consequences of FA separately for men and women. The sample consisted of 1182 Polish undergraduate students (613 women, 559 men, 10 missing values on gender) with a mean age of 20.33 years (SD = 1.68; range: 18–36). They were asked to complete self-report questionnaires measuring FA, personality traits (Big Five), self-esteem, narcissism, self-efficacy, social anxiety, loneliness, and well-being indicators. Due to the low content, factorial, and clinical validity, the first three items were excluded from the Polish version of the mYFAS. The six-item mYFAS demonstrated measurement invariance, allowing for meaningful comparisons between genders and yielded almost identical prevalence rates for men and women. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that, narcissism, and social anxiety predicted FA in both genders, whereas important gender differences in antecedents were also noted. In addition, FA was associated with body mass index (BMI) and most of the well-being indicators, even after controlling for relevant variables. The findings suggest that our modified analytical approach allows researchers to measure FA using a valid, useful, and simple tool.

Compulsive Study Behaviors Are Associated with Eating Disorders and Have Independent Negative Effects on Well-Being: A Structural Equation Model Study among Young Musicians

Compulsive overworking and eating disorders (EDs) show considerable similarities in terms of risk factors (e.g., rigid perfectionism), clinical manifestation (e.g., excessive controlling behaviors), and consequences (e.g., physical exhaustion and depression). This study aimed to examine the hypotheses that compulsive study behaviors (conceptualized as study addiction) are related to EDs and that they have independent negative effects on well-being among young musicians, who constitute a highly vulnerable population for these types of problematic behaviors. The relatively high prevalence of study addiction and its pronounced negative relationship with psychosocial functioning make it a pending challenge for sustainable education. A total of 255 students from various music academies in Poland took part in the study. The Bergen Study Addiction Scale, assessing compulsive studying (conceptualized as addictive behavior), the Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26), the Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the quality-of-life measure were used. A structural equation model was investigated. Study addiction was positively related to the general factor of EDs and the social pressure component. Both problematic behaviors showed negative and independent effects on the well-being of young musicians. EDs may be 8 to 16 times more prevalent among the students of music academies who are addicted to studying than among the general population. About 80% of those students showing all seven symptoms of study addiction exhibited at least mild depression, while more than half had clinically significant levels of depression. Almost 90% had clinically significant levels of anxiety. Without addressing co-occurring study addiction and eating disorders, including their commonalities and idiosyncrasies, their prevention and treatment cannot be effective and it will substantially affect the sustainability of education and work.

Self-perceived stress and the personality of mothers of children with central auditory processing disorders - Differences from mothers of typically developing children

PURPOSE

To investigate the relationship between self-perceived global stress and the personality traits of mothers of children with central auditory processing disorders (APD), and make a comparison with mothers of typically developing (TD) children.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study using two questionnaires - the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and the Short Big Five Markers (IPIP-BFM-20) - to assess five personality dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and intellect/imagination. The study material included 187 mothers, of whom 108 were mothers of children with APD. The average age of the children with APD was 10 years.

RESULTS

The average level of global stress was similar in mothers of children with APD and mothers of TD children. Mothers of APD children had significantly lower scores for personality dimensions such as: emotional stability, conscientiousness, and intellect/imagination. Increased perceived stress level in mothers of children with APD was inversely correlated with extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. However, for both groups of mothers, the only significant predictor of global stress level was emotional stability.

CONCLUSION

Mothers of children with APD, despite having similar global stress levels to other mothers, were different in terms of three personality dimensions, and these, especially lowered emotional stability, may play a negative role in coping with global self-perceived stress.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The results of this study might be helpful in parental support interventions, including psychological therapy and counselling, and also in parental implementation interventions aimed at mothers of children with APD, especially those mothers who have high global stress and/or low emotional stability.

Three-Faceted Approach to Perceived Stress: A Longitudinal Study of Stress Hormones, Personality, and Group Cohesion in the Real-Life Setting of Compulsory Basic Military Training

Compulsory basic military training is characterized not only by being challenging but also by being stressful. Assuming a high frequency of perceived stress events as a negative outcome of training, this article provides evidence on how the perceived frequency of stressful situations is affected by three types of factors: (i) biological stress response variables measured by hair steroid hormone levels, (ii) personality traits measured using the Big Five personality test, and (iii) group cohesion measures in military squads. A total of 112 conscripts in 11 squads participated in the research at the beginning (T1), in the middle (T2), and at the end (T3) of compulsory basic military training. Hair steroid hormone levels (cortisol, cortisone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)) levels were measured by liquid mass spectrometry; other data were collected using self-report questionnaires. The results of the Poisson regression analysis indicated that hair steroid hormone cortisol had a statistically significantly impact and could increase the perceived frequency of stressful situations by up to 1.317 (e0.275, T2) times. The concentrations of other hormones (cortisone = 1.157, e0.146, T3 and DHEA = 1.020, e0.020, T3) also had a statistically significant effect. Other factors had a decreasing effect on the frequency. Extraversion was significant with an effect of 0.907 (e−0.098, T2) and 0.847 (e−0.166, T3), while task cohesion had an effect of 0.946 (e−0.056) and norm cohesion of 0.954 (e−0.047). The research indicates that the three groups of factors affect the perceived frequency of stressful situations during compulsory basic military training, but their impacts are considerably different.

Big Five personality as a predictor of health: shortening the questionnaire through the elastic net

BACKGROUND

The Big Five personality attributes (i.e. openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) help to predict health. To predict health, researchers may prefer to use a short version of the Big Five Inventory. Although the psychometric properties of the shortened scales can be highly satisfactory, their use can lead researchers to substantially underestimate the role of personality. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a method appropriate for shortening the Big Five Inventory without losing predictive performance.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

The sample comprised 4,678 panel members. The personality traits were measured in 2017 using the Five Factor Model International Personality Item Pool and subjective health was measured in 2018 using the item "How would you describe your health, generally speaking?" While studying the personality-health relationship, the elastic net was compared to a more conventional regression method.

RESULTS

While predicting health based on personality, using 14 Big Five Inventory items (R2 = .19) resulted in a similar predictive performance as using 50 Big Five Inventory items (R2 = .18). Controlled for gender and age, participants experienced lower levels of health when they "often feel blue", are not "relaxed most of the time", and "worry about things." These aspects of neuroticism relate to the lower-order facets anxiety and depression.

CONCLUSIONS

When the primary goal of personality assessment is predictive performance, researchers should consider shortening their questionnaire using the method demonstrated in this paper. Shortening of the questionnaire does not have to result in a lower predictive performance.