Personality traits and trauma exposure: The relationship between personality traits, PTSD symptoms, stress, and negative affect following exposure to traumatic cues

• Published in: Personality and individual differences Vol. 177; p. 110802
• Main Authors: Weinberg, Michael, Gil, Sharon, Besser, Avi, Bass, Jasmin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2021; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Affect (Psychology); Agreeableness; Coping; Cues; Emotional distress; Emotionality; Extraversion; Honesty; Negative affect; Negative emotions; Personality; Personality tests; Personality traits; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychological distress; Psychological trauma; PTSD symptoms; Questionnaires; Stress; Trauma exposure; Traumatic life events; PTSD symptoms; Stress; Personality traits; Trauma exposure; Negative affect
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110802

Exposure to traumatic events can lead to various types of emotional distress. Aside from the exposure itself, numerous factors are relevant for the development of emotional distress following a traumatic event. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between the six HEXACO personality traits and PTSD symptoms, stress, and negative affect following traumatic cues. Two hundred and forty-nine participants (N = 249) completed demographic and personality-trait questionnaires. An hour after filling out those questionnaires, the participants watched a 3-minute video clip of a series of terror attacks. After watching the video clip, they filled out PTSD-symptom, perceived-stress, and negative-affect questionnaires. Structural-equation-model analyses showed that PTSD symptoms were positively associated with past trauma, negatively associated with honesty-humility, positively associated with emotionality, and negatively associated with extraversion. Stress was positively associated with emotionality, negatively associated with extraversion, and negatively associated with agreeableness. Negative affect was negatively associated with honesty-humility, positively associated with emotionality, negatively associated with extraversion, and negatively associated with agreeableness. In addition, positive relationships were found between PTSD symptoms and stress, PTSD symptoms and negative affect, and stress and negative affect. This study demonstrates the importance of HEXACO personality traits in coping with numerous aspects of emotional distress following trauma exposure.
•Trauma exposure cues could lead to PTSD, stress and negative affect symptoms.•Personality traits are associated with emotional distress following trauma exposure.•HEXACO personality traits associate differently with PTSD, stress and negative affect.•Past trauma associated only with PTSD symptoms