Building Emotional Resilience with Big Five Personality Model Against COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The outbreak of novel coronavirus, which is declared as a ‘Global Pandemic’ by the World Health Organization (WHO), has affected around 210 countries and India is not an exception. It is an unprecedented ‘public health emergency’ and therefore, it is important that individuals should not fall into a prolonged depression or any other unhealthy psychological condition. Being concerned about the population at risk, the current study thus investigates how Big Five personality model can help in building emotional resilience during pandemic conditions. The current study thus investigates a sample of 254 adults at Delhi, selected through purposive sampling. Cluster analysis and stepwise regression analysis were conducted to establish the relationship and identify the significant personality traits required for building emotional resilience. The cluster analysis showed three main personality types (resilient, overcontrollers, and emotionally dysregulated) and further stepwise regression showed that individuals high on conscientiousness, openness and neuroticism were found to be associated with more change in emotional resilience. The findings thus achieved are a step towards psychological health of the individuals at risk. Additionally, the results of the study may be added to the psychological first aid (PFA) guide as reference point. Bearing in mind the potential for future research, it is recommended that longitudinal studies should be conducted, and the relationship should also be examined in the presence of other variables such as culture, life stressors and gender.