No party no joy?—Changes in university students' extraversion, neuroticism, and subjective well‐being during two COVID‐19 lockdowns

Abstract

The COVID‐19 lockdowns represent a major life event with an immense impact on university students' lives. Findings prior to the pandemic suggest that changes in personality and subjective well‐being (SWB) can occur after critical life events or psychological interventions. The present study examined how university students' extraversion, neuroticism, and SWB changed during two COVID‐19 lockdowns in Germany. To this end, we conducted a partly preregistered, two‐cohort study with four measurement points each from October 2019 to May 2021 (NStudy 1 = 81–148, NStudy 2 = 82–97). We used both multilevel contrast analyses and multi‐group random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel models to examine within‐person changes over time. Levels of life satisfaction, extraversion, and, unexpectedly, neuroticism were lower during both lockdowns. Students' affect improved during the first but deteriorated during the second lockdown, suggesting that similar experiences with the deceleration of daily life were associated with different affective outcomes during the two lockdown periods. Following the introduction or termination of a lockdown, changes in extraversion (neuroticism) were consistently positively (negatively) associated with changes in SWB. Our results stress the importance of disentangling between‐ and within‐person processes and using pre‐COVID baseline levels to examine changes in personality and SWB.

Differential personality change earlier and later in the coronavirus pandemic in a longitudinal sample of adults in the United States

“…Table 2 reports results of the multilevel models that show personality change during the pandemic, accounting for the effect of time over the three assessments. Consistent with the previous studies on change in neuroticism early in the pandemic [ 14 , 16 ], neuroticism was lower (approximately one-tenth of a standard deviation) in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic levels. This decline, however, was not apparent in the next phase of the pandemic; neuroticism measured in 2021–2022 was not statistically different than neuroticism measured prior to the pandemic.…”

“…The present research adds to the replicated evidence that neuroticism declined early in the pandemic [ 14 , 16 ]. This decline is particularly surprising against the backdrop of other longitudinal research on mental health that found symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress increased during the first year of the pandemic [ 1 , 2 , 23 ].…”

“…Although surprising, it is consistent with anecdotal evidence that anxiety (one core aspect of neuroticism) declined early in the pandemic among individuals who typically suffer from anxiety [ 15 ]. Further, a small sample from Germany found that neuroticism was slightly lower among university students during the first coronavirus lockdown compared to their neuroticism measured before the pandemic [ 16 ]. Although modest, this current evidence suggests that, at least early in the pandemic, during the acute phase, there was a decline in neuroticism.…”

“…There is less evidence for change in the other traits from pre- to during the pandemic. Although extraversion was hypothesized to decline because pandemic restrictions (e.g., lockdowns, social distancing, event cancellations) reduced the ability to be sociable, the evidence is mixed: Extraversion decreased slightly in a sample of university students in Germany [ 16 ], whereas it did not change in a nationwide sample of adults in the United States accounting for sociodemographic characteristics [ 14 ]. No change was found for Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness in the American sample [ 14 ], and these traits were not measured in the German sample [ 16 ].…”

Institutional Trust as a Protective Factor during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

“…The COVID-19 outbreak has severely threatened people’s physical and mental health [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Individuals have faced the worry of being infected and the pressure of interpersonal isolation during the COVID-19 crisis, resulting in increased depression and fear [ 6 ], severe sleep disruptions [ 7 ], and decreased subjective well-being [ 8 ]. Therefore, how individuals cope with the ongoing fear of COVID-19 and sustain their subjective well-being has become a crucial concern [ 9 ].…”