Helpful or Harmful? The Role of Personality Traits in Student Experiences of the COVID-19 Crisis and School Closure

Abstract

Little is known about the individual differences in student experiences and expectations of the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting school closures. Yet, as the crisis may have uniquely impacted students, knowledge about their personalities is highly relevant. In a sample of 347 Flemish students, this study explored the association between personality traits and differences in responses to the crisis. The Big Five personality traits of students were assessed in January 2020, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Students were reassessed in June 2020 with a set of items related to well-being, remote learning, and family and social life. The results suggested that more conscientious students (showing a better perception of remote learning) and more open students (considering the period as an opportunity to learn new skills) adjusted well to the changes induced by the crisis. On the contrary, students high in neuroticism (showing higher stress levels) were harmed.

Keywords

personality Big Five COVID-19 school closure secondary education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abdelrahman

(2020). Personality traits, risk perception, and protective behaviors of Arab residents of Qatar during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00352-7

Airaksinen

Komulainen

Jokela

Gluschkoff

(2020). Big Five personality traits and COVID-19 precautionary behaviors among older adults in Europe [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/rvbjf

Anderson

M. L.

(2008). Multiple inference and gender differences in the effects of early intervention: A reevaluation of the abecedarian, Perry preschool, and early training projects. Journal of American Statistical Association, 103(484), 1481–1495. https://doi.org/10.1198/016214508000000841

Arceneaux

Nickerson

D. W.

(2009). Modeling certainty with clustered data: A comparison of methods methodology. Political Analysis, 17(2), 177–190. https://doi.org/10.1093/pan/mpp004

Aschwanden

Strickhouser

J. E.

Sesker

A. A.

Lee

J. H.

Luchetti

Stephan

Sutin

A. R.

Terracciano

(2021). Psychological and behavioural responses to Coronavirus disease 2019: The role of personality. European Journal of Personality, 35(1), 51–66. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2281

Asselmann

Borghans

Montizaan

Seegers

(2020). The role of personality in the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of students in Germany during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. PLOS ONE, 15(11), Article e0242904. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242904

Aucejo

E. M.

French

J. F.

Araya

M. P. U.

Zafar

(2020). The impact of COVID-19 on student experiences and expectations: Evidence from a survey (NBER Working Paper No. 27392). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w27392

Bacher-Hicks

Goodman

Mulhern

(2020). Inequality in household adaptation to schooling shocks: Covid-induced online learning engagement in real time (NBER Working Paper No. 27555). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w27555

Belsky

Jaffee

S. R.

Caspi

Moffitt

(2003). Intergenerational relationships in young adulthood and their life course, mental health, and personality correlates. Journal of Family Psychology, 17(4), 460–471. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.17.4.460

10.

Benjamini

Krieger

A. M.

Yekutieli

(2006). Adaptive linear step-up procedures that control the false discovery rate. Biometrika, 93(3), 491–507. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/93.3.491

11.

Bidjerano

Dai

D. Y.

(2007). The relationship between the Big-Five model of personality and self-regulated learning strategies. Learning and Individual Differences, 17, 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2007.02.001

12.

Biroli

Bosworth

Della Giusta

Di Girolamo

Jaworska

Vollen

(2020). Family life in lockdown (IZA DP No. 13398). IZA Institute of Labor Economics. https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13398/family-life-in-lockdown

13.

Blagov

P. S.

(2020). Adaptive and dark personality in the COVID-19 pandemic: Predicting health-behavior endorsement and the appeal of public-health messages. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12, 697–707. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620936439

14.

Bogg

Milad

(2020). Demographic, personality, and social cognition correlates of coronavirus guideline adherence in a U.S. sample. Health Psychology, 39(12), 1026–1036. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000891

15.

Brouard

Vasilopoulos

Becher

(2020). Sociodemographic and psychological correlates of compliance with the COVID-19 public health measures in France. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 53, 253–258. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423920000335

16.

Carifio

Perla

(2008). Resolving the 50-year debate around using and misusing Likert scales. Medical Education, 42, 1150–1152. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2008.03172.x

17.

Carvalho

L. D. F.

Pianowski

Gonçalves

A. P.

(2020). Personality differences and COVID-19: Are extroversion and conscientiousness personality traits associated with engagement with containment measures? Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 42(2), 179–184. https://doi.org/10.1590/2237-6089-2020-0029

18.

Chan

H. F.

Moon

J. W.

Savage

D. A.

Skali

Torgler

Whyte

(2020). Can psychological traits explain mobility behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12, 1018–1029. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620952572

19.

Cohen

Baruth

(2017). Personality, learning, and satisfaction in fully online academic courses. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.030

20.

Columbus

(2020). Honesty-humility, beliefs, and prosocial behaviour: A test on stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8e62v

21.

Costa

P. T.

McCrae

R. R.

(1992). NEOPI-R [Professional manual]. Psychological Assessment Resources.

22.

Cuadrado

Salgado

J. F.

Moscoso

(2020). Personality, intelligence, and counterproductive academic behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Personality Processes and Individual Differences, 120(2), 504–537. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000285

23.

Danckert

Dinesen

P. T.

Klemmensen

Nørgaard

A. S.

Stolle

Sønderskov

K. M.

(2017). With an open mind: Openness to experience moderates the effect of interethnic encounters on support for immigration. European Sociological Review, 33(5), 721–733. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcx070

24.

De Coninck

D’Haenens

Matthijs

. (2020). Perceived vulnerability to disease and attitudes towards public health measures: COVID-19 in Flanders, Belgium. Personality and Individual Differences, 166, Article 110220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110220

25.

De Witte

Cabus

Thyssen

Groot

van Den Brink

H. M

. (2013). A critical review of the literature on school dropout. Educational Research Review, 10, 13–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2013.05.002

26.

De Witte

Declercq

Iterbeke

Schelfhout

. (2020). Experimental evidence on the determinants of peer effects during learning. AEA RCT Registry. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5163-1.0

27.

Diener

Larsen

R. J.

Emmons

R. A.

(1984). Person x situation interactions: Choice of situations and congruence response models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47(3), 580–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(85)90080-7

28.

Emmons

R. A.

Diener

Larsen

R. J.

(1985). Choice of situations and congruence models of interactionism. Personality and Individual Differences, 6(6), 693–702. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(85)90080-7

29.

Faul

Erdfelder

Lang

Buchner

A. G.

(2007). Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146

30.

Feldman

K. A.

Ethington

C. A.

Smart

J. C.

(2001). A further investigation of major field and person-environment fit. The Journal of Higher Education, 72(6), 670–698. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2001.11777121

31.

Feldman

K. A.

Smart

J. C.

Ethington

C. A.

(1999). Major field and person-environment fit: Using Holland’s theory to study change and stability of college students. The Journal of Higher Education, 70(6), 642–669. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1999.11780802

32.

Garbe

Rau

Toppe

(2020). Influence of perceived threat of COVID-19 and HEXACO personality traits on toilet paper stockpiling. PLOS ONE, 15(6), Article e0234232. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234232

33.

Gerber

A. S.

Huber

G. A.

Doherty

Dowling

C. M.

S. E.

(2010). Personality and political attitudes: Relationships across issue domains and political contexts. American Political Science Review, 104(1), 111–133. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055410000031

34.

Goldberg

L. R.

(1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26–42. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.4.1.26

35.

Götz

F. M.

Gvirtz

Galinsky

A. D.

Jachimowicz

J. M.

(2021). How personality and policy predict pandemic behavior: Understanding sheltering-in-place in 55 countries at the onset of COVID-19. American Psychologist, 76(1), 39–49. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000740

36.

Harris

J. A.

(2004). Measured intelligence, achievement, openness to experience, and creativity. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 913–929. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00161-2

37.

Holland

J. L.

(1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.

38.

Keller

Karau

S. J.

(2013). The importance of personality in students’ perceptions of the online learning experience. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2494–2500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.007

39.

Kluger

(2020, July 23). The Coronavirus seems to spare most kids from illness, but its effect on their mental health is deepening. Time. https://time.com/5870478/children-mental-health-coronavirus/

40.

Komarraju

Karau

S. J.

(2005). The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and academic motivation. Personality and Individual Differences, 39, 557–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.02.013

41.

Komarraju

Karau

S. J.

Schmeck

R. R.

Avdic

(2011). The Big Five personality traits, learning styles, and academic achievement. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 472–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.04.019

42.

Kristof-Brown

A. L.

Guay

R. P.

(2011). Person-environment fit. In Zedeck

(Ed.), American psychological association handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 1–50). American Psychological Association.

43.

Kroencke

Geukes

Utesch

Kuper

Back

(2020). Neuroticism and emotional risk during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Research in Personality, 89, Article 104038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104038

44.

Mabbe

Soenens

Vansteenkiste

Van Leeuwen

(2016). Do personality traits moderate relations between psychologically controlling parenting and problem behavior in adolescents? Journal of Personality, 84(3), 381–392. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12166

45.

Maldonado

J. E.

De Witte

. (2021). The effect of school closures on standardised student test outcomes. British Educational Research Journal, Forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3754

46.

Maldonado

J. E.

De Witte

Declercq

(2021). The effects of parental involvement in homework. Two randomised controlled trials in financial education. Empirical Economics, Forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-021-02058-8

47.

McCrae

R. R.

Costa

P. T.

(1999). A five-factor theory of personality. In Pervin

L. A.

John

O. P.

(Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 139–153). Guildford.

48.

Miguel

F. K.

Machado

G. M.

Pianowski

Carvalho

L. D. F.

(2021). Compliance with containment measures to the COVID-19 pandemic over time: Do antisocial traits matter? Personality and Individual Differences, 168, Article 110346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110346

49.

Modersitzki

Phan

L. V.

Kuper

Rauthmann

J. F.

(2020). Who is impacted? Personality predicts individual differences in psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12, 1110–1130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620952576

50.

Mueller

Ram

Conroy

D. E.

Pincus

A. L.

Gerstorf

Wagner

(2019). Happy like a fish in water? The role of personality–situation fit for momentary happiness in social interactions across the adult lifespan. European Journal of Personality, 33, 298–316. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2198

51.

Ozer

D. J.

Benet-Martínez

(2006). Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 401–421. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190127

52.

Pawlowska

D. K.

Westerman

J. W.

Bergman

S. M.

Huelsman

T. J.

(2014). Student personality, classroom environment, and student outcomes: A person–environment fit analysis. Learning and Individual Differences, 36, 180–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.10.005

53.

Poropat

A. E.

(2009). A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135(2), 322–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014996

54.

Qian

Yahara

(2020). Mentality and behavior in COVID-19 emergency status in Japan: Influence of personality, morality and ideology. PLOS ONE, 15(7), Article e0235883. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235883

55.

Rauthmann

J. F.

(2013). Effects of supplementary and complementary personality-situation fit on personality processes. Psychology of Everyday Activity, 6(2), 41–63.

56.

Rauthmann

J. F.

(2020). Capturing interactions, correlations, fits, and transactions: A person-environment relations model. In Rauthmann

J. F.

(Ed.), Handbook of personality dynamics and processes (1st ed. pp. 427–522). Elsevier.

57.

Roberts

B. W.

(2009). Back to the future: Personality and assessment and personality development. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(2), 137–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.015

58.

Rocconi

L. M.

Liu

Pike

G. R.

(2020). The impact of person-environment fit on grades, perceived gains, and satisfaction: An application of Holland’s theory. Higher Education, 80, 857–874. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00519-0

59.

Schelfhout

Wille

Fonteyne

Roels

De Fruyt

Duyck

(2019). The effects of vocational interest on study results: Student person–environment fit and program interest diversity. PLOS ONE, 14(4), Article e0214618. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214618

60.

Schmader

Sedikides

(2018). State authenticity as fit to environment: The implications of social identity for fit, authenticity, and self-segregation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22(3), 228–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868317734080

61.

Smith

Guimond

Bergeron

St-Amand

Fitzpatrick

Gagnon

(2021). Changes in students’ achievement motivation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A function of extraversion/introversion? Education Sciences, 11(30), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11010030

62.

Somma

Gialdi

Krueger

R. F.

Markon

K. E.

Frau

Lovallo

Fossati

(2020). Dysfunctional personality features, non-scientifically supported causal beliefs, and emotional problems during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Personality and Individual Differences, 165, Article 110139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110139

63.

Soto

C. J.

(2019). How replicable are links between personality traits and consequential life outcomes? The life outcomes of personality replication project. Psychological Science, 30(5), 711–727. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619831612

64.

Stadler

Niepel

Botes

Dörendahl

Krieger

Greiff

(2020). Individual psychological responses to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: Different clusters and their relation to risk-reducing behavior [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/k8unc

65.

Sutin

A. R.

Luchetti

Aschwanden

Lee

J. H.

Sesker

A. A.

Strickhouser

J. E.

Stephan

Terracciano

(2020). Change in five-factor model personality traits during the acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic. PLOS ONE, 15(8), Article e0237056. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237056

66.

Teppers

Klimstra

T. A.

Van Damme

Luyckx

Vanhalst

Goossens

(2013). Personality traits, loneliness, and attitudes toward aloneness in adolescence. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30(8), 1045–1063. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407513481445

67.

Vermulst

A. A.

Gerris

J. R. M.

(2005). QBF: Quick Big Five persoonlijkheidstest handleiding. LDC Publications.

68.

Willroth

E. C.

Smith

A. M.

Shallcross

A. J.

Graham

E. K.

Mroczek

D. K.

Ford

B. Q.

(2020). The health behavior model of personality in the context of a public health crisis [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/mu3ja

69.

Wolff

Martarelli

C. S.

Schüler

Bieleke

(2020). High boredom proneness and low trait self-control impair adherence to social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 5420. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155420

70.

Zajenkowski

Jonason

P. K.

Leniarska

Kozakiewicz

(2020). Who complies with the restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19? Personality and perceptions of the COVID-19 situation. Personality and Individual Differences, 166, Article 110199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110199

71.

Zettler

Schild

Lilleholt

Kroencke

Utesch

Moshagen

Böhm

Back

M. D.

Geukes

(2020). The role of personality in COVID-19 related perceptions, evaluations, and behaviors: Findings across five samples, nine traits, and 17 criteria [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/pkm2a

72.

Zhang

Wang

Lyu

Zhang

Liu

Luo

(2020). The influence of COVID-19 on well-being [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/znj7h

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.03 MB