Higher Levels Of Neuroticism Research Articles

Identifying the Key Risk Factors for Adverse Psychological Outcomes Among Police Officers: A Systematic Literature Review.

It is well established that police work is highly stressful; however, a paucity of evidence limits our knowledge and understanding of the factors that may lead to, compromise, and/or compound psychological distress for this unique population. To address this lack, the current systematic review was conducted to reveal the individual, organizational, and operational risk factors that have been identified in the research literature to date and their associations with depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and burnout. We performed searches on literature published between January 2008 and January 2018 and identified a total of 20 studies that met our inclusion criteria. The results indicated that individual factors, including high levels of neuroticism, low social support, and engaging in passive or avoidant coping strategies, were associated with adverse psychological outcomes. This review identified low social support from colleagues as the most common risk factor linked to adverse psychological outcomes. Other organizational risk factors associated with such outcomes included high work demands, low resources, and low reward. This article demonstrates that individual, organizational, and operational factors all impact the negative psychological outcomes of police officers to some degree. In particular, the current review suggests that certain negative psychological outcomes are likely a result of a combination of risk factors across the three domains of risk, highlighting the necessity to observe psychological risk of police in a more comprehensive way.

The role of personality in retirement adjustment: Longitudinal evidence for the effects on life satisfaction.

Research on retirement suggests that personality can influence the adjustment process, but the mechanisms involved remain still largely unknown. In the present study, we investigate direct and indirect associations between the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction over the retirement transition. Indirect effects were evaluated through the role of personality for levels and changes in self-esteem, autonomy, social support, self-rated physical health, self-rated cognitive ability, and financial satisfaction. Our sample consisted of 796 older adults (age 60-66) and four annual measurement waves from the longitudinal population-based HEalth, Ageing, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS)study, including individuals retiring during the study period. Results from multivariate latent growth curve analysis revealed multiple indirect associations between personality and life satisfaction. Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were positively related to life satisfaction through higher levels of self-esteem, autonomy, and social support. Neuroticism was negatively associated with life satisfaction through lower levels of self-esteem and lower levels and negative changes in autonomy and social support. Our findings suggest that retirees with higher levels of Neuroticism are more vulnerable in the transition process and they are also more likely to experience adjustment problems resulting from negative changes in key resources.

Only children in the 21st century: Personality differences between adults with and without siblings are very, very small

Negative beliefs about only children suggest that they are spoiled and unlikable, with these early personality differences persisting across the lifespan. Early research found little support for the idea, yet, negative views towards only children remain prevalent. The current research re-visited the issue using a large national panel study of New Zealand adults (N = 20,592) to assess mean differences in personality between those with and without siblings. Adults with no siblings reported significantly lower levels of conscientiousness and honesty-humility and higher levels of neuroticism and openness than adults with siblings; however, mean differences failed to reach the threshold of even a small effect size (|d’s| = 0.08–0.11). Beliefs about only children appear to contradict actual group differences.

The relationship between neuroticism and appetitive conditioning.

Appetitive conditioning is considered a central mechanism for the vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. However, the investigation of individual differences that are related to altered appetitive learning has been almost neglected so far. The aim of this study was to investigate the link between neuroticism and appetitive conditioning processes. 79 subjects participated in a differential conditioning procedure in which a conditioned stimulus (CS+) was paired with a reward (money) after a fast behavioral response, while a second conditioned stimulus (CS-) was never followed by a reward, irrespective of the behavioral response. As a main result, neuroticism correlated negatively with the underlying neural processes of appetitive conditioning in females, but not in males. In detail, higher levels of neuroticism were associated with decreased neural responses in the left (p = .001) and right amygdala (p = .011), left (p = .063) and right (p = .019) nucleus accumbens, and left (p = .002) and right (p = .021) orbitofrontal cortex (all results are family-wise-error-corrected). The present results support previous findings, which also showed an inverse sex-specific effect in the context of neuroticism and emotional processing in females. In addition, the findings suggest that neuroticism is not solely linked to increased amygdala sensitivity during the processing of negative stimuli but also to decreased neural responses when processing rewarding stimuli. Possible explanations for the sex differences and implications are discussed.

Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and the Relationship with Individual Taxpayer Compliance Behavior

Within the Big Five personality framework, past research has found that neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness tend to display a relationship with ethical behavior (Sacket & Wanek, 1996; Kolz, 1999; Kalshoven, Den Hartog, & DeHoogh, 2011). Although past research has explored the relationship between white-collar crime and personality (Blickle, Schlegel, Fassbender, & Klein, 2006; Turner, 2014), this study seeks to more narrowly look at the influence that personality (specifically, neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscitiousness) has on taxpayer compliance. As hypothesized, results provide support that taxpayer compliance behavior decreases when higher level of neuroticism and conscientiousness are present.

Is nursing student personality important for considering a rural career?

Identifying and measuring personality traits assists to understanding professional career choices, however, what impact personality traits have on nursing student rural career choice remains absent. The purpose of this paper is to identify personality traits among nursing students that may be predictive of pursuing a rural career. A cross-sectional design was used to examine the importance Bachelor of Nursing students place on undertaking rural careers. All nursing students (n=1,982) studying a three-year bachelor's degree were invited to complete a questionnaire examining personality traits and rural practice intentions. Students who saw themselves working rurally after graduation had higher levels of conscientiousness than those who wanted metropolitan careers. Students with higher levels of agreeableness or open-mindedness were more likely to consider rural practice when individual community factors were carefully considered. Finally, students with higher levels of neuroticism were less likely to consider rural practice as a future career pathway. The cohort had high numbers of student from rural and regional settings, which may limit the ability to generalise the findings. In addition, student respondents of the survey may not be representative of the whole student cohort given the low response rate. Key personality traits are identifying factors that contribute to nursing student decision making regarding rural practice. Students who displayed higher levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness and open-mindedness have traits that are most likely to impact the consideration of rural practice across their nursing career, which gives additional insight into targeted recruitment strategies.

Factors Associated With Depressive Symptoms in Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in Southern Taiwan.

ABSTRACTBackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) is known to cause physical suffering and psychological problems, which burden society. In addition, IPV-related psychological problems such as depressive symptoms may lead to disabilities, chronic mental illness, and an increased risk of suicide.PurposeThis study was designed to explore the factors associated with depressive symptoms in women who were physically abused by intimate partners.MethodsThis cross-sectional study recruited 72 physically abused women from two domestic violence prevention centers in southern Taiwan. The questionnaires that were used to collect data included the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Conflict Tactic Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.ResultsSixty-six of the participants (91.67%) met the inclusion criteria and completed all questionnaires. Fifty-five (83.3%) of the participants were found to have depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were positively associated in this sample with younger age, a lower level of extraversion, and a higher level of neuroticism. These three factors explained 59.5% of the total variance in depressive symptoms.Conclusions/Implications for PracticeYouth and neuroticism were found to be significant risk factors for developing depressive symptoms in female victims of IPV, whereas extraversion was found to be a related protective factor. The results of this study indicate that clinical workers should provide female victims of IPV, especially relatively young victims, with services that help ameliorate neuroticism to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms.

Соотношение особенностей личности с качеством успеваемости у детей-сирот

The authors present the results of the study on the relationship between academic performance and individual psychological characteristics of orphans. The research reveals that adolescents with low academic performance tend to have higher levels of neuroticism, emotional lability, anxiety, concern, and irritability (Eysenck questionnaire). Besides, the survey respondents demonstrate an extremely high level of aspirations and self-esteem, uncritical attitude to their capabilities and mistakes, personal immaturity, inability to make a genuine assessment of their activity results (Dembo-Rubinstein technique). The authors reveal the low motivation for success and the lack of sufficient strong-willed qualities (Ehlers technique). Orphans with low academic performance are characterized by accented character traits such as demonstrativeness, getting stuck in an emotion, hyperthyme, and emotiveness (Schmishek technique). The results demonstrated by students with average and low academic performance are compared with the help of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The study identifies meaningful statistical data on the relationship between the indicators under review. It can be assumed that adolescents with low academic performance have a greater propensity for destructive behavior.

Threat appraisal partially mediates the relation between neuroticism and bulimic symptoms

ABSTRACT Several studies support an association between neuroticism and bulimic symptoms; however, few studies have focused on how neuroticism exerts its influence. The purpose of this study was to extend the literature by investigating threat appraisal as a potential mediator of the relation between neuroticism and bulimic symptoms. One hundred and twenty women completed self-report measures of trait neuroticism, threat appraisal, and bulimic symptoms. Approximately half of the sample reported moderate or high levels of bulimic symptoms. Bootstrapping analyses revealed that neuroticism and threat appraisal were both positive predictors of bulimic symptoms. Further, threat appraisal partially mediated the association between neuroticism and bulimic symptoms. The findings suggest that women high in neuroticism may be vulnerable to experiencing bulimic symptoms, particularly during periods of heightened stress. These women may perceive bulimic behavior to be more effective in alleviating negative stressful emotions compared to more adaptive coping strategies. Based on the findings, women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa with high levels of neuroticism may benefit from interventions that specifically target threat appraisals to facilitate their ability to effectively adapt to stress.

Psychopathy, Neuroticism, and Abusive Behavior in Low Risk Child Sex Offenders

ABSTRACTPersonality traits are considered as an important aspect in the assessment of child sex offenders (CSOs). The current study sought to elucidate the association between neuroticism, psychopathy, and abusive behavior in low risk CSOs. 43 pedophilic CSOs and 21 controls (CTLs) completed the NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV), and Multiphasic Sex Inventory (MSI). Our results revealed small differences in PCL scores between CSOs and CTLs, with comparatively low levels of psychopathy in both groups. Higher levels of neuroticism were associated with higher PCL scores, in both CSOs and CTLs. However, higher PCL scores in CSOs did not correlate with higher MSI total scores on the subscale child molest. These findings suggest an ambiguous role of psychopathy in CSOs: higher levels of psychopathy co-occur with higher levels of neuroticism, but psychopathy does apparently not modulate abusive behavior, at least not in low risk offenders, as currently investigated.

САМОУСВІДОМЛЕННЯ ОСОБИСТОСТІ З ПСИХОФІЗИЧНИМИ ВАДАМИ: ЕМПІРИЧНИЙ ВИМІР ПРОБЛЕМИ

У статті висвітлено результати емпіричного вивчення психологічних особливостей самоусвідомлення підлітків, які мають певні психофізичні вади розвитку. Дослідження здійснено в навчально-реабілітаційному центрі з вибіркою, учасники якої навчаються в інклюзивних класах. Установлено ускладений характер психо- й соціогенезу таких дітей, зокрема в ракурсі самоприйняття, самоставлення тощо. Емпіричним способом установлено, що самоприйняття для дітей із певними вадами розвитку є найбільш значущим, насамперед для самостверджувального самооцінювання та відстоювання свого психофізичного простору в середовищі однолітків. Завдяки інтерпретації результатів факторного аналізу вдалося виокремити такі основні чотири фактори, які концентрували змістово-функціональну сутність їх самоусвідомлення: агресивне самоприйняття, самовпевнена самотність, невротичне прийняття зовнішності, дифузність і тривожність самоставлення. Досліджуваним притаманний високий рівень самоповаги, який засвідчує внутрішнє прагнення дітей із психофізичними вадами бути такими, як усі інші: бажаними, рецептованими, шанованими тощо. Підлітки з психофізичними вадами розвитку намагаються презентувати себе як упевнених, самовпевнених і закоханих у себе молодих людей. Діти переживають численні розлади самоприйняття, що посилюються уявленнями про власні психофізичні недосконалості на тлі своїх однолітків, тому сепараційне відмежування є намаганням ствердитися на рівні посиленого самоаналізу й глибокого самоусвідомлення. Досліджуваним підліткам притаманний високий рівень самооцінної та міжособистісної тривожності, а також самовпевнена самотність, що відіграє як самостверджувальну, так і, вочевидь, психозахисну функцію. Для підлітків із психофізичними вадами особливо значущим є прийняття своєї зовнішності, що засвідчує їхнє прагнення бути в загальнопопу­ляційному річищі розвитку – вибудовувати образ Я та Я-концепцію. Проте усвідомлення своєї інвалідизованості породжує тривожно-депресивні й невротичні реакції, свідченням чого є високий рівень невротизації та тривожності. Констатовано необхідність надання таким дітям ревіталізаційної допомоги.

815-P: Eating Behaviors, Personality Traits, and Diabetes Fatalism: Predictors of HbA1c in Type 2 Diabetes

The effect of eating behavior and personality on glycemic outcomes in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has received little attention. Diabetes fatalism has furthermore been associated with uncontrolled glycemia. The aim of the present study is to explore the interrelationship of these constructs, which might uncover new insights for diabetes management. A total of 333 Lebanese patients (Age: 59 ± 13 years, 50.2% M) with T2DM were recruited. Eating behaviours (Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire), personality traits (NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3), and diabetes related fatalistic attitudes (Diabetes Fatalism Scale) were assessed. Regression analyses showed that neuroticism, restrained eating, and external eating predicted A1C. Total diabetes fatalism and its ‘despair’ subscale also predicted HbA1C. Multiple regression analysis showed that neuroticism, restrained eating, and fatalism subscale ‘despair’ predicted HbA1C levels and explained 5.4% of the variance (F(3,302) = 5.77, p = .001). A moderated moderation was run and revealed that the effect of conscientiousness on restrained eating was moderated by powerlessness (fatalism subscale) and neuroticism. At low neuroticism levels and with any powerlessness levels, conscientiousness did not exert a significant effect on restrained eating. However, at high levels of neuroticism with low or moderate levels of powerlessness, conscientiousness exerted significant effect on restrained eating (low powerlessness: B = .07, t = 4.39, p < .001; medium powerlessness: B = .04, t = 3.24, p < .01). On the other hand, when powerlessness was high, conscientiousness did not exert a significant effect on restrained eating. In summary, the impact of conscientiousness on restrained eating, which in turn predicts HbA1C levels, is moderated by the belief of powerlessness and neuroticism in T2DM. These factors should be taken into account in the clinical practice. Further exploring similar constructs in T2DM to improve the quality of health care is warranted. Disclosure N. Farran: None. O.A. Sukkarieh-Haraty: None. D. Al Bakhour: None. M. Bassil: None.

Is more emotional clarity always better? An examination of curvilinear and moderated associations between emotional clarity and internalising symptoms

ABSTRACTLow emotional clarity has been a target for psychological interventions due to its association with increased internalising symptoms. However, theory suggests that very high emotional clarity may also lead to increased symptoms, particularly in combination with high levels of neuroticism. As an initial empirical test of this hypothesis, the present study examined curvilinear associations of emotional clarity with internalising symptoms (i.e. dysphoria, social anxiety, panic, traumatic intrusions) and a moderating role of neuroticism/negative affect in the association across two student samples and two clinical samples (total N = 920). Evidence of curvilinear associations and moderation varied across samples, with some supporting evidence in three samples. Specifically, neuroticism/negative affect moderated the curvilinear association of emotional clarity with traumatic intrusions in Clinical Sample 2 as well as the linear association between emotional clarity and dysphoria in Student Sample 2 and Clinical Sample 1. Simple slope analyses indicated that high emotional clarity was not consistently associated with lower symptoms. Also, the hypothesised quadratic effects of emotional clarity were found in Student Sample 2 and Clinical Sample 1 for panic, and in Clinical Sample 1 for dysphoria. Implications and limitations of these findings for conceptualisations of emotional clarity and current treatments were discussed.

Neuroticism and chronicity as predictors of 9-year course of individual depressive symptoms

BackgroundThe large between-person differences in symptomatology suggest that major depressive disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous psychiatric disorder. However, symptom-specific prospective studies are scarce. We hypothesized that chronicity (i.e., being depressed for 24 months during a patient's preceding 48 months at baseline) and neuroticism at baseline would predict adverse course trajectories over 9 years of follow up with differential magnitudes for individual depressive symptoms. MethodsIn total, 560 patients with a current MDD were included from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA-cohort). We used a multivariate linear mixed model with repeated measures, with a history of chronicity and neuroticism separately as main independent variables and with Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology self-report (IDS-SR) item scores as outcome variables. For each individual symptom, the model was adjusted for age, gender, and baseline depression severity. ResultsPatients were on average 42.7 (SD = 12.1) years old and 64.7% were women. Patients with chronic depression or high levels of neuroticism showed similar absolute rates of decline over time compared to their counterparts. However, because symptoms had higher starting points for mood, cognitive, and somatic/vegetative symptoms (in that order), symptom severity remained higher over time. Chronicity and neuroticism were especially linked to persistent low self-esteem and high interpersonal sensitivity. LimitationsNeuroticism is partly state dependent and likely affected by depression severity. ConclusionsChronicity and neuroticism predict long-term persistence of diverse psychiatric symptoms, in particular low self-esteem and high interpersonal sensitivity.

Risk Factors for Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents.

The objective of this study was to assess the association between variables reflecting childhood adversity, protective childhood experiences, and the five-factor model of personality and BPD in adolescents. Two groups of adolescents were studied: 104 met criteria for BPD and 60 were psychiatrically healthy. Adverse and protective childhood experiences were assessed using a semistructured interview. The five-factor model of personality was assessed using the NEO-FFI. Eight of nine variables indicating severity of abuse and neglect, positive childhood relationships, childhood competence, and the personality factors studied were found to be significant bivariate risk factors for adolescent BPD. However, in a multivariate model, severity of neglect, higher levels of neuroticism, and lower levels of childhood competence were found to be the best risk factor model. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that all three types of risk factors studied are significantly associated with BPD in adolescents.

Bronchial asthma control degree and the temperament structure according to the Eysenck model.

IntroductionAsthma is a disease of a psychosomatic nature. The control of asthma is still poor in approximately 5% of patients, despite introduction of modern inhalant drugs and psychotherapeutic interventions.AimTo evaluate whether the degree of bronchial asthma control is related to the characteristics of temperament according to Eysenck’s concept.Material and methodsThe study was conducted on a group of 111 bronchial asthma patients and 44 healthy subjects. In all of them, the Eysenck temperament questionnaire was administered and the level of asthma control was determined.ResultsIncrease in the scale of neuroticism was associated with an 1.83-fold increase in the likelihood of poor asthma control. Increase in the result on the psychoticism scale and lie scale of about one point was associated with a slightly smaller increased risk of poor asthma control (respectively: 1.49-fold and 1.61-fold).ConclusionsThe structure of temperament of a person with poor control of bronchial asthma can be characterized. Patients with poor asthma control have a higher level of neuroticism, psychoticism and propensity to lie, compared with the healthy population and subjects with good or partial bronchial asthma control.

Materialism and Well-Being Revisited: The Impact of Personality

Although the negative link between materialism and well-being has been confirmed by results from many empirical studies, mechanisms underlying this association still remain partially unexplained. The issue is addressed in this article in two ways. Firstly, the nature of the components of materialism is examined, and secondly—the article demonstrates that personality (particularly neuroticism and narcissism) is one of the important factors linking materialism and well-being. The article presents the results of three empirical studies, in which three main assumptions were verified—that the components of materialism, i.e. acquisition centrality, acquisition as a pursuit of happiness and possession-defined success, have dissimilar impacts on well-being, that materialists with high and low levels of neuroticism and narcissism differ with regard to well-being, and that neuroticism and narcissism mediate the relationship between materialism and well-being. The studies were based on self-reports and utilized well-known, established questionnaire measures of materialism, personality and well-being. The results showed that each component of materialism was associated with well-being in a slightly different way. Of the three possession-defined happiness was the strongest predictor of all aspects of well-being examined and the centrality component was not associated with any of them. Materialists with a high level of neuroticism and low level of grandiose narcissism experienced diminished well-being in comparison to materialism with a low level of neuroticism and high level of grandiose narcissism. Neuroticism and grandiose narcissism were both significant mediators, acting contrary to each other—neuroticism lowered well-being, whereas grandiose narcissism elevated it.

Five-factor personality model versus affective temperaments: a study in a nonclinical Polish sample

BackgroundThe study aimed to evaluate the relationship between five-factor personality model traits and affective temperaments.Participants and procedureThe sample consisted of 615 healthy Caucasian adults (395 women and 220 men) recruited from a nonclinical population. Par-ticipants’ ages ranged from 17 to 69 (M = 30.79, SD = 9.69). The Polish version of Akiskal’s Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto-Questionnaire was used for the assessment of affective temperaments. The five-factor personality model traits were measured with the Polish version of Costa and McCrae’s NEO-FFI Personality Inventory.ResultsNeuroticism positively correlated with depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperaments, but negatively with hyper-thymic temperament. Extraversion positively correlated with hyperthymic temperament, but negatively with all other affective temperaments. Neuroticism together with introversion was the best predictor of depressive temperament, accounting for 55% of the variance. Neuroticism also explained 37% of the anxious temperament variance and 22% of cyclothymic temperament vari-ance. Extraversion predicts hyperthymic temperament (accounting for 25% of the variance) and low agreeableness predicts irri-table temperament (10% of explained variance). The results confirmed that women are more depressive, cyclothymic and anx-ious and less hyperthymic than men and have a higher level of neuroticism than men.ConclusionsThe results highlight the importance of two personality traits: neuroticism and extraversion. They may share similarities with certain affective temperaments and may also contribute to development of affective disorders.

An Explanatory Model of Potential Changes in Burnout Diagnosis According to Personality Factors in Oncology Nurses.

Burnout in a hospital oncology service takes place when there is a high level of interaction between nurses and patients. The aim of the present study is to identify models that will enable us to accurately classify a person at a given level within each of the three dimensions of burnout, according to the values presented for personality related explanatory variables, for a sample of 96 oncology nurses working in the regional health service of Andalusia (Spain). A quantitative, crosscutting, multicentre, descriptive study was designed, and for this purpose data on sociodemographic and personality variables and on the three dimensions of burnout were compiled. Three categorical-response logit ordinal models were used and the prognostic ratios for each level were obtained, with respect to every other level, according to possible changes in the explanatory variables considered. Certain personality factors are associated with one or more dimensions of burnout syndrome. Thus, nurses are more likely to develop high levels of burnout if they present high levels of neuroticism and low levels of friendliness and responsibility. Further research in this field is needed to confirm and extend these findings.

Stress-induced atrial fibrillation

To study clinical types of psychosomatic reactions with stress-induced atrial fibrillation (AF) and their contribution to personality disorders and characteristics of stressors. The sample consisted of 34 patients with a stress-induced AF. A clinical/psychopathological method and psychometric scales were used. Two groups of stress-induced psychosomatic reactions were identified. The first group somatic reactions led to a somatic catastrophe and were associated with paranoia and schizotypal personality disorders, constitutional alexithymia, as well as resistance to somatic problems. Second group was characterized by mental reactions leading to AF revealed predominantly in individuals with a histrionic and anxious personality disorders, reactive lability and the high level of neuroticism under the influence of severe stressors. The dynamics of psychopathological symptoms after AF manifestation was associated with different clinical forms of hypochondria.