The experience of resilience and stress as related to personality types in college students

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the relationship between stress, resilience, and personality types by using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 25), and the Big Five Inventory (BFI). These measures were used to help identify the relationship between stress and resilience. They were also used to investigate the connection between stress, resilience, and personality types. A correlation showed a negative relationship between stress and resilience. Results of this study also showed overall higher mean PSS scores than in previous studies which is likely the result of the study being conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic. Independent samples t-tests indicated that participants in the high resilience category scored significantly lower on neuroticism, higher on openness, higher on conscientiousness, and higher on extraversion than the participants in the low resilience category. The data also showed that participants in the high stress category scored significantly higher than the participants in the low stress category on the neuroticism scale. These results highlight certain personality types that are more likely to have higher stress and resilience and that clinical interventions should be tailored to fit different client's needs as related to their personalities. Results also show that individuals that identify as white have lower stress and lower resilience levels than many of their non-white counterparts. Future research should investigate these differences and connect the results with BFI scale scores. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)