The relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysis
Abstract Objective Personality, emotions, and olfaction exhibit partial anatomical overlap in the limbic system structure, establishing potential mechanisms between personality, affective disorders, and olfactory-related aspects. Thus, this study aims to investigate the associations among the Big Fi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05653-y |
| _version_ | 1797266648074289152 |
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| author | Binfeng Zhang Xiuxia Li Hongzhen Deng Peixuan Tan Wanyong He Shuling Huang Lu Wang Hao Xu Lei Cao Guanghui Nie |
| author_facet | Binfeng Zhang Xiuxia Li Hongzhen Deng Peixuan Tan Wanyong He Shuling Huang Lu Wang Hao Xu Lei Cao Guanghui Nie |
| author_sort | Binfeng Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective Personality, emotions, and olfaction exhibit partial anatomical overlap in the limbic system structure, establishing potential mechanisms between personality, affective disorders, and olfactory-related aspects. Thus, this study aims to investigate the associations among the Big Five personality traits, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness. Methods A total of 863 college participants were recruited for this study. All participants completed the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory-15, the Odor Awareness Scale (OAS), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener-7. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the hypothesized mediated model. Results The findings revealed the majority of significant intercorrelations among the dimensions of the Big Five personality traits, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and OAS (|r| = 0.072–0.567, p < 0.05). Alexithymia and anxiety symptoms exhibited a serial mediation effect between neuroticism and OAS (95%CI[0.001, 0.014]), conscientiousness and OAS (95%CI[-0.008, -0.001]), and extraversion and OAS (95%CI[-0.006, -0.001]). Anxiety symptoms mediated the relationship between agreeableness and OAS (95%CI[-0.023, -0.001]) and between openness and OAS (95%CI [0.004, 0.024]). Conclusion The mediating roles of alexithymia and anxiety symptoms between the Big Five personality traits and odor awareness support the idea of a certain level of association among personality, emotions, and olfaction, with the underlying role of the limbic system structure. This enhances our understanding of personality, emotions, and olfaction and provides insights for future intervention measures for affective disorders and olfactory dysfunctions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:04:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9984b4c6385f4dab8ce8a0c28f0c0703 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-244X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:04:01Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-9984b4c6385f4dab8ce8a0c28f0c07032024-03-10T12:18:54ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2024-03-0124111210.1186/s12888-024-05653-yThe relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysisBinfeng Zhang0Xiuxia Li1Hongzhen Deng2Peixuan Tan3Wanyong He4Shuling Huang5Lu Wang6Hao Xu7Lei Cao8Guanghui Nie9Department of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversitySchool of Health Management, Southern Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Guangxi Medical UniversityAbstract Objective Personality, emotions, and olfaction exhibit partial anatomical overlap in the limbic system structure, establishing potential mechanisms between personality, affective disorders, and olfactory-related aspects. Thus, this study aims to investigate the associations among the Big Five personality traits, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness. Methods A total of 863 college participants were recruited for this study. All participants completed the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory-15, the Odor Awareness Scale (OAS), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener-7. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the hypothesized mediated model. Results The findings revealed the majority of significant intercorrelations among the dimensions of the Big Five personality traits, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and OAS (|r| = 0.072–0.567, p < 0.05). Alexithymia and anxiety symptoms exhibited a serial mediation effect between neuroticism and OAS (95%CI[0.001, 0.014]), conscientiousness and OAS (95%CI[-0.008, -0.001]), and extraversion and OAS (95%CI[-0.006, -0.001]). Anxiety symptoms mediated the relationship between agreeableness and OAS (95%CI[-0.023, -0.001]) and between openness and OAS (95%CI [0.004, 0.024]). Conclusion The mediating roles of alexithymia and anxiety symptoms between the Big Five personality traits and odor awareness support the idea of a certain level of association among personality, emotions, and olfaction, with the underlying role of the limbic system structure. This enhances our understanding of personality, emotions, and olfaction and provides insights for future intervention measures for affective disorders and olfactory dysfunctions.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05653-yPersonalityAlexithymiaAnxietyOdor awarenessLimbic systemMediation |
| spellingShingle | Binfeng Zhang Xiuxia Li Hongzhen Deng Peixuan Tan Wanyong He Shuling Huang Lu Wang Hao Xu Lei Cao Guanghui Nie The relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysis BMC Psychiatry Personality Alexithymia Anxiety Odor awareness Limbic system Mediation |
| title | The relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysis |
| title_full | The relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysis |
| title_fullStr | The relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysis |
| title_short | The relationship of personality, alexithymia, anxiety symptoms, and odor awareness: a mediation analysis |
| title_sort | relationship of personality alexithymia anxiety symptoms and odor awareness a mediation analysis |
| topic | Personality Alexithymia Anxiety Odor awareness Limbic system Mediation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05653-y |
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