The Relationship between Stress and Personality Factors

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the stress level in a group of nurses and to correlate the stress level and its subsequent symptoms with personality factors. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 34 psychiatric nurses, 68% of them being female. The average age of the male subjects was 32.25 years with a standard deviation of 6.21 years, while the average age of the fe- male subjects was 35.18 years, with a standard deviation of 8.03 years. The analysis focused on the stress level, stress symptoms, age, dura- tion of employment and personality factors. Results: The findings showed that female staff members were more affected by stress as they grow older and have spent a longer time on the job, while male staff members were subjected to higher stress levels at the beginning of their activ- ity. Correlations between personality factors and stress both in concerns of perceived stress and the level of subsequent stress symptomatology were identified. High stress levels were identified in people with low social presence (r=-0.417, p=0.01) and low empathy (r=-0.393, p=0.02). A higher intensity of psychological symptoms following stress was also associated with low social presence (r =-0.379, p=0.03), low empathy (r=-0.465, p<0.01), low independence (r=-0.347, p=0.04), low good impression (r=-0.380, p=0.03), low well-being state (r =-0.429, p=0.01), low tolerance (r=-0.484, p<0.01), low intellectual efficiency (r=-0.406, p=0.02), low psychological intuition (r=-0.437, p=0.01), low work ori- entation (r=-0.463, p<0.01) and increased femininity (r=0.431, p=0.01). Conclusion: Several personality factors, such as social presence, em- pathy, independence, good impression, intellectual efficiency, psychological intuition, work orientation, femininity render individuals more vulnerable