Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Big Five Personality on Subjective and Psychological Well-Being. Issue 8 (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Anglim, Jeromy; Horwood, Sharon
• Is Part Of: Social psychological & personality science. Volume 12:Issue 8(2021)
• Page Start: 1527
• Page End: 1537
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- coronavirus -- pandemic -- personality -- well-being; Personality -- Periodicals; Social psychology -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 155.2
• DOI: 10.1177/1948550620983047
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1948-5506

Abstract

The current study assessed the effect of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on subjective well-being (SWB) and psychological well-being (PWB) and whether the pandemic moderated the effect of personality on well-being. Measures of Big Five personality, SWB (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect), and PWB (positive relations, autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance) were obtained from a sample of young adults in Melbourne, Australia ( n = 1, 132; July 13–August 11, 2020) during a second wave of viral transmission and lockdown and an identically recruited pre-COVID sample ( n = 547). Well-being was lower in the COVID sample, and differences were largest for positive affect ( d = −0.48) and negative affect ( d = 0.70). While the effect of personality on well-being was relatively robust, the effect of personality on well-being was slightly reduced, and the effect of extroversion on positive affect was particularly attenuated during the pandemic.