Predictive Qualities of Personality, Self-Esteem, and Stressors on the Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescents

Abstract:

Introduction: This study aims to investigate if individual variations in personality, self-esteem, and stressors affected the impact of Covid-19 on academic performances, social lives, and mental health of adolescents.
Methods: 172 (114 female, 58 male) participants aged 13-19 years attending a boarding school in New Jersey, USA, completed 16 multiple choice items; the Ten Item Personality Inventory (measuring the Big Five personality traits), the single-item self-esteem scale, and the Adolescent Stressors Questionnaire (ASQ-14). Data were collected using an online survey over a two-week period in March 2022. Results: Despite Covid-19 being on a decline from November 2020 to March 2022, students rated mental health as continuing to be negatively impacted. It was also found that personality traits, particularly emotional stability, extraversion, and conscientiousness were correlated with a greater severity of impact across multiple aspects of the pandemic. Self-esteem and stressors were also associated with multiple aspects. However, only stressors were predictive of academic impact in a structural equation model.

Conclusions: Given the associations observed in the current study, it is likely that adolescents experiencing greater stress may be at a greater risk of the Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacting their mental health. Targeted mental health interventions should be implemented for these high-risk groups. Future research could consider investigating moderating effects between severity of Covid-19 impact and individual differences.

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