Modelling the contribution of the Big Five personality traits, health anxiety, and COVID-19 psychological distress to generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

In the current study we sought to extend our understanding of vulnerability and protective factors (the Big Five personality traits, health anxiety, and COVID-19 psychological distress) in predicting generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (n = 502), who were United States residents, completed a variety of sociodemographic questions and the following questionnaires: Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10), Whitley Index 7 (WI-7), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale (C19-ASS), and Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS). Results showed that extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness were negatively correlated with generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms and that neuroticism, health anxiety and both measures of COVID-19 psychological distress were positively correlated with generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms. We used path analysis to determine the pattern of relationships specified by the theoretical model we proposed. Results showed that health anxiety, COVID-19 anxiety, and the COVID-19 anxiety syndrome partially mediated the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms. Specifically, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were negatively associated with the three mediators, which, in turn, were positively associated with generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms, with COVID-19 anxiety showing the strongest effect. Conversely, neuroticism and openness were positively associated with COVID-19 anxiety and the COVID-19 anxiety syndrome, respectively. These relationships were independent of age, gender, employment status and risk status. The model accounted for a substantial variance of generalised anxiety and depression symptoms (R² = .75). The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: Big Five personality traits; COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome; Coronavirus (COVID-19); Coronavirus anxiety; generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms; health anxiety.

Figure 1

Proposed theoretical model.

Figure 2

Results of the path analysis. Notes: n = 502; *p < .05; **p < .01, ***p < .001; BFI-10-Ext = Big Five Inventory-10-Extraversion; BFI-10-Agr = Big Five Inventory-10-Agreeableness; BFI-10-Com = Big Five Inventory-10-Conscientiousness; BFI-10-Neu = Big Five Inventory-10-Neuroticism; BFI-10-Ope = Big Five Inventory-10-Openness; WI-7 = Whitley Inventory 7; CAS = Coronavirus Anxiety Scale; C-19ASS = COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale; PHQ-ADS = Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale; Risk Status (0= No, 1= Yes); Employment Status (0= No, 1= Yes).