Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy Youngsters
The objective of the present study was to explore possible changes in the psychological wellbeing of young healthy students during the initial 14 days of the COVID-19 general lockdown that occurred in March of 2020, and if there was any relation with specific personality traits (neuroticism, psychot...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/1/5 |
| _version_ | 1827666709196046336 |
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| author | Javier Rodríguez Árbol Alberto Ruiz-Osta Casandra Isabel Montoro Aguilar |
| author_facet | Javier Rodríguez Árbol Alberto Ruiz-Osta Casandra Isabel Montoro Aguilar |
| author_sort | Javier Rodríguez Árbol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The objective of the present study was to explore possible changes in the psychological wellbeing of young healthy students during the initial 14 days of the COVID-19 general lockdown that occurred in March of 2020, and if there was any relation with specific personality traits (neuroticism, psychoticism, and extraversion), cognitive styles (internal and external locus of control and intolerance of uncertainty), and coping strategies. One hundred twenty-two university students aged from 18 to 29 years participated in the study. The dispositional factors were assessed at the beginning of the study, while measures of psychological adjustment (anxiety, depression, and self-perceived health) were taken in three different assessment stages, employing validated questionnaires and scales. Anxiety and depression scores significantly increased after one week of lockdown, reaching a plateau pattern by the second week. The levels of self-perceived mental health, vitality, and quality of life showed a pattern of sustained progressive decrease, with a more acute lessening during the first week. Neuroticism, intolerance of uncertainty, and negative autofocus were associated to worse levels of psychological adjustment. These individual differences might be taken into consideration when designing prevention programs aiming to dampen the psychological impact of a general lockdown in healthy population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:55:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f819305a98f244c6b5fb6aac0142aee7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:55:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-f819305a98f244c6b5fb6aac0142aee72023-11-23T12:58:41ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2021-12-01121510.3390/bs12010005Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy YoungstersJavier Rodríguez Árbol0Alberto Ruiz-Osta1Casandra Isabel Montoro Aguilar2Department of Psychology, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, SpainBusiness Department, University of Lleida, 25003 Lleida, SpainDepartment of Psychology, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, SpainThe objective of the present study was to explore possible changes in the psychological wellbeing of young healthy students during the initial 14 days of the COVID-19 general lockdown that occurred in March of 2020, and if there was any relation with specific personality traits (neuroticism, psychoticism, and extraversion), cognitive styles (internal and external locus of control and intolerance of uncertainty), and coping strategies. One hundred twenty-two university students aged from 18 to 29 years participated in the study. The dispositional factors were assessed at the beginning of the study, while measures of psychological adjustment (anxiety, depression, and self-perceived health) were taken in three different assessment stages, employing validated questionnaires and scales. Anxiety and depression scores significantly increased after one week of lockdown, reaching a plateau pattern by the second week. The levels of self-perceived mental health, vitality, and quality of life showed a pattern of sustained progressive decrease, with a more acute lessening during the first week. Neuroticism, intolerance of uncertainty, and negative autofocus were associated to worse levels of psychological adjustment. These individual differences might be taken into consideration when designing prevention programs aiming to dampen the psychological impact of a general lockdown in healthy population.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/1/5neuroticismanxietydepressionintolerance of uncertaintysocial support seekingnegative autofocus |
| spellingShingle | Javier Rodríguez Árbol Alberto Ruiz-Osta Casandra Isabel Montoro Aguilar Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy Youngsters Behavioral Sciences neuroticism anxiety depression intolerance of uncertainty social support seeking negative autofocus |
| title | Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy Youngsters |
| title_full | Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy Youngsters |
| title_fullStr | Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy Youngsters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy Youngsters |
| title_short | Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Healthy Youngsters |
| title_sort | personality traits cognitive styles coping strategies and psychological impact of the covid 19 pandemic lockdown on healthy youngsters |
| topic | neuroticism anxiety depression intolerance of uncertainty social support seeking negative autofocus |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/1/5 |
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