COVID Pandemic Made Us More Reserved & Moody Than Before: Study

October 07, 2022 By Jozeph P

(Image Credit Google)

The unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic not only changed our working lives, but it also affected us personally. According to a new study, many of us have become moodier over time, often to the point of becoming neurotic and disagreeable. The study included 7,109 people aged 18 to 90, with the shift being most noticeable in younger adults. There were no statistically significant changes among the elderly people included in the study. Whereas previous research suggested that collectively stressful but localized events, such as a natural disaster, did not affect most personality traits, this study shows that global environmental pressures can. effect of covid

"There was limited personality change early in the pandemic but striking changes starting in 2021," say the authors of the study. "Of most note, the personality of young adults changed the most, with marked increases in neuroticism and declines in agreeableness and conscientiousness." Also Read: Which European Nations Are Hardest Hitten by Inflation? "That is, younger adults became moodier and more prone to stress, less cooperative and trusting, and less restrained and responsible." The researchers assessed the study participants using the Big Five personality trait model, which includes neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Extroversion was one of the traits that fell overall. effect of covid

Given the global lockdowns that limited our ability to interact with other people face-to-face, it's perhaps not surprising that we became less extroverted - a trait associated with being outgoing and finding joy in socializing with others. Another characteristic that appears to have declined since the pandemic is openness. According to the researchers, the personality changes would normally take several years to manifest. "The changes were about one-tenth of a standard deviation, which is equivalent to about one decade of normative personality change," write the researchers in their published paper. effect of covid

Surprisingly, declines in extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness occurred in 2021 and 2022 but were not noticeable in 2020. That suggests that the stresses changed as the pandemic progressed, or that we reacted to them later. As the researchers point out, this indicates that the pandemic's stresses were not distributed evenly - and that some parts of the community fared better than others in terms of the financial cost of COVID and how easily its risks could be avoided.

By Jozeph P

Journalism explorer, tech Enthusiast. Love to read and write.

COVID Pandemic Made Us More Reserved & Moody Than Before: Study

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