Correlations Between Mental Health and Personality

Half glass full or half glass empty? We’ve all heard of the saying. Going deeper, this question is often asked to associate people with being pessimists or optimists in regards to how their outlook and personality would continue to affect the remainder of their life. Though there are many environmental, genetic, and internal factors heightening one’s risk for mental illness and poor mental health, the correspondence of particular personality traits can be traced towards patterns of poor mental well being. Certain personality traits found in individuals may cause them to have an undesirable response to external stimuli, thinking patterns, less likely or not able to reach out in times of need, etc.

According to SimplyPsychology.org, the Big Five personality traits include Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness to experience, and Extraversion (Extroversion) (SimplyPsychology.org).

Figure 1. The Big Five Personality Traits. Reprinted from PennState, by R. Gray, 2017, https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2017/09/02/the-importance-of-personality-trait-screening-for-tod ays-organizations-application-of-the-five-factor-model-ffm/

Figure 1 above shows the opposite ends of the spectrum for the big five personality traits. These traits have served as the base of psychology for several years. However it is noted that there is a range between either of the extremes. Personality traits have been found to be a better indicator of mental illness than genetics and various other predictors. Here is how each of the five big personality traits may affect one’s mental health and risk for mental illness:

Openness : Openness mainly refers to the manner in which one thinks and takes in new information, situations, beliefs or ideas of the external world. Those who are less open tend to think rather practically and take a more traditional path in life compared to those who hold more of the trait. Individuals scoring higher on this trait tend to embrace new circumstances, are highly innovative and think outside the box. Additionally, being artistic, curious, and abstract are also among the characteristics these individuals may hold. Openness can be divided into several categorizations: openness to values, action, ideas, aesthetic, and fantasy. Scoring highly in certain categories may impact one’s risk for certain mental disorders more than others. For the sake of the article length, only two will be used as examples, Higher levels of “openness to action,” or the observed participation one seeks out in order to experience enjoyment and positive feelings is associated with a lower risk of depression and poor mental health. Medcraveonline.com states, “This is because people with high openness to actions more often choose behavior that makes them happy...Dua found that openness to action implies ‘emotional stability, no depression, and a positive effect on thoughts and real life experiences’”(Medcraveonline.com). Similar results were found in various different studies as well, both opposing neuroticism and depression. Similarly, scoring highly on the “openness to ideas” component also often results in better mental health. Openness to ideas regards one’s cognitive flexibility and their interest in pursuing knowledge. Though these individuals are highly correlated with high intelligence, flexibility rather than the utmost knowledge is the main defining factor between openness to ideas and high capacity for factual information. As a result of flexible thinking patterns, these individuals are often more creative, imaginative, and expressive than their peers, excelling at problem solving and analyzing. Openness to ideas is also linked with heightened abilities to self analyze and express themselves. Consequently, they are typically able to reflect on themselves and adjust accordingly. According to medcraveonline.com, these traits are correlated with higher self confidence and life satisfaction. Lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone was also shown in these individuals (Medcraveonline.com). A high association with fair mental health and low anxiety levels may be observed with this trait.

Conscientious : Conscientious individuals are not uncommon. We see them, we know them. They are the go-getters, those who are especially disciplined, organized, and successful. Seeming to be able to keep perfect control over every aspect of their lives, they are often praised in society for their work ethic and precision. They are more likely to be physically healthy, are detail- oriented, and are less likely to participate in risky behaviors. These individuals are also commonly perfectionists, wanting things to be a certain way. According to EdInstitute.org, because of their perfectionist nature and high levels of impulse control, they are more prone to disorders such as eating disorders (linked highest to anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (Edinstitute.org). Valuing productivity, they are at risk for workaholism and burnout as they may overwork themselves. Similarly, to reach their perceived goals, they may overdo actions they believe will bring them closer to achievement, possibly causing more harm than good. This may increase cortisol levels, their stress hormone, possibly serving as a catalyst to depression, anxiety, and moodiness. More conscientious individuals are unimpulsive, controlled in their actions. Recognizing this, when failure occurs, these individuals feel a higher sense of internal locus control, or the belief they are mainly responsible for their actions and outcomes. On the other hand, less conscientious individuals may blame more external factors. When these individuals are met with failure, a strong resentment for the external environment will prevail over responsibility for their own actions. Less conscientious people are more likely to engage in counterproductive behaviors, waste time, and not reach their goals. A constant feel of despair and hopelessness in unconscientious individuals are linked to negative mental health. Overall, individuals scoring highly on the trait are less prone to most mental disorders and addictive disorders.

Extraversion : At one point in your life or another, you’ve probably been classified as introverted, extroverted, or somewhere in between. One scoring highly on the trait seeks out interactions with others, enjoys attention, and social situations both excite and energize them. They are comfortable in social settings, fun -seeking , and prefer to be with others rather than by themselves. These individuals are more likely to be open when they are struggling and to communicate their struggles with those they can trust. A research article stated that extraversion best predicted the participation in activities resulting in a good mood. It was also found that no matter their living circumstances, extraverts were happier throughout their various groups of gender, age, race etc (Researchgate.net). On the other hand, those scoring lowly on this trait may be classified as introverted. These individuals may treasure solitude and time away from others, have a smaller group of friends, avoid social situations, and distance themselves from others. An article states that staying away from interacting with others may lead for introverts to develop anxiety and/or social anxiety. Additionally, introverts are more likely develop depression and are at higher risk for suicide (Mental-health-matters.com). Though both extroverts and introverts struggle with social anxiety, an introvert often prefers being by themself and relishes their alone time, which may worsen their social anxiety. Unlike extroverts, they have less desire to go out of their way to socialize with their peers. The less introverts interact with others in the present, the chances are lowered that they will have the courage to do so in the future. These individuals often suffer in silence, and often feel ashamed and fearful of social situations. Introverted traits can be found in 74% of those suffering from depression (Mental-health-matters.com). Though there are key differences between one who is depressed and one who is an introvert, from the outside some may be unable to distinguish the two. Some may confuse introverts for being depressed as they may feel and look drained, perhaps after social interactions, or vice-versa where they may just take someone’s change in behavior due to mental illness as an introvert may look worn out and exhausted from a day of social interactions.

Agreeableness : Being cooperative, friendly, and helpful are among the characteristics of an agreeable individual. Being more agreeable typically means that they are empathetic towards others, are trustworthy and forgiving, and are generally likeable. On the other hand, those low in the trait are generally less well liked, due to their perceived personality traits of being a poor team player, being manipulative and untrustworthy, and being indifferent to other’s feelings. Psychologistworld.com states, “A person who is highly agreeable will exhibit pro-social forms of behavior...agreeable people tend to work well as part of a team. During arguments or times of conflict, they will seek to resolve, rather than prolong, confrontation” (psycholgistworld.com). Highly agreeable individuals are typically social and have established meaningful connections with others,tending to hold good relationships with them. This encourages communication and the support for one struggling with their thoughts to reach out to people that love and support them. If one scores low on agreeableness and doesn’t have any established close relationships with others, they may not be able to reach out and communicate their concerns. These individuals also tend to isolate themselves more, which may contribute to causing their mental health to suffer. Altruism and pleasing others is a common trait more agreeable individuals hold. However, when one takes on too much at a time, overwhelming and stressing themselves out due to their inability to refuse a request, it can do more harm than good. However, Lisa Esposito of Health.usnews.com states that “There was less likelihood of a related psychiatric disorder for easy-to-get-along-with personalities” (Esposito). Low agreeableness is associated with higher neuroticism and narcissism with a more pessimistic view of the world, and the opposite being true with higher levels of agreeableness.

Neuroticism : Those who frequently feel poorly about themselves and the outside world, experiencing emotions such as sadness, jealousy, frustration, forgotten, isolated, worry, anger etc, score higher on the trait neuroticism. Unsurprisingly, frequently experiencing negative feelings are linked to a higher risk of major mental conditions including severe depression and anxiety. Those with higher levels of neuroticism also are especially critical of themselves, easily noticing their own mistakes and dwelling on them. Tending to overthink even the simplest of things, those with higher levels of neuroticism can spend a much longer length of time dwelling on their mistakes and downfalls. They are especially self conscious, overworry, and temperamental. Talkspace.com also states that those expressing more of the personality trait neuroticism are more prone to addiction. If healthy coping mechanisms are not formed, more neurotic individuals “ May be more likely to adopt maladaptive behaviors, such as self-medication with alcohol, food, or other substances” (Talkspace.com). Although being more neurotic may pose a risk to some, it is not necessarily a bad thing, and may even have some benefits. However, it may cause distress to an individual and affect one’s quality of life.

The Big 5 personality traits all have correlations between mental health, due to the manner one may react towards a certain event. Regardless, even if one is at risk in compliance with the traits they hold, having a strong support system, creating and following daily good habits, and having healthy coping habits and systems can be enough to avoid both unhealthy coping mechanisms and mental disorders. Additionally, it is important to remember correlation is not causation; correlation between traits and mental illness does not exactly mean the traits are a cause towards them. Neither end of the spectrum for the Big 5 personality traits should be defined as good or bad, but rather the risk factors should serve as a precaution.

Works Cited: https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2017-07-21/personality-and-menta l-illness-whats-the-link https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/06/02/your-personality-may-affect-your-vulnerability-to-mental-he alth-problems/ https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html https://www.talkspace.com/blog/what-it-means-to-be-neurotic/ https://edinstitute.org/blog/2012/2/10/is-there-an-eating-disorder-personality https://medcraveonline.com/JPCPY/JPCPY-10-00632.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262915038_Extraversion_personality_mental_health_ and_religiosity_Significant_associations https://mental-health-matters.com/are-introverts-affected-by-mental-illness-more-often/#Introvert s_and_Mental_Illness