The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on personality and resilience

2019 marked the introduction of the novel coronavirus into the world. The pandemic changed humanity in a unique way and more data is necessary to explore these changes, particularly to identify individuals vulnerable to such changes and to better prepare a response to future outbreaks of disease. Due to the biological nature of disease, the effects of COVID-19 upon the human psyche are often neglected in research. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on personality and resilience in a quantitative, mixed measures design. 147 participants completed the Brief Resilience Scale  and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory to assess the effects of COVID-19 on the Big Five personality traits and resilience. Resilience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were hypothesised to increase post-pandemic, whereas extraversion, emotional stability, and openness were hypothesised to decrease. The latter hypothesis was supported as all three traits decreased. Neither resilience nor conscientiousness increased from baseline. Notably, significant gender differences were found for agreeableness and openness. This study functions to fill the gap in the literature regarding the effect of COVID-19 on personality and resilience. The results can be used to identify at-risk individuals to pandemic-related personality changes, inform interventions, and better prepare future response to outbreak. The results are consistent with previous research in reaffirming the steeling effect on resilience post-trauma and by reaffirming trauma-related personality changes. The findings of this study stress the utility of baseline personality measures in identifying vulnerable groups to psychological distress after trauma.