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Covid%20might%20have%20changed%20people%u2019s%20personalities%2C%20study%20suggests%20%7C%20Coronavirus%20%7C%20The%20Guardian: %u201CYounger%20adults%20became%20moodier%20and%20more%20prone%20to%20stress%2C%20less%20cooperative%20and%20trusting%2C%20and%20less%20restrained%20and%20responsible%2C%u201D%20according%20to%20the%20authors%20of%20the%20study%2C%20led%20by%20Prof%20Angelina%20Sutin%20of%20Florida%20State%20University%20College%20of%20Medicine.%0A%0ASutin%20and%20colleagues%20used%20assessments%20of%20personality%20from%207%2C109%20people%20enrolled%20in%20the%20online%20Understanding%20America%20Study%20that%20had%20been%20repeated%20at%20various%20times%20before%20and%20during%20the%20pandemic.%20Participants%20were%20given%20a%20widely%20used%20personality%20test%20that%20measures%20five%20traits%20%u2013%20neuroticism%2C%20extraversion%2C%20openness%2C%20agreeableness%20and%20conscientiousness.%0A%0AAdvertisement%0A%0AParticipants%2C%20aged%2018%20to%20109%2C%20took%20the%20tests%20pre-pandemic%2C%20early%20and%20later%20in%20the%20pandemic%2C%20with%20an%20average%20of%20three%20tests%20per%20participant.%0A%0ADuring%20the%20first%20phase%20of%20the%20pandemic%20%28March%20to%20December%202020%29%2C%20personality%20was%20relatively%20stable%2C%20with%20only%20a%20small%20decline%20in%20neuroticism%20compared%20with%20pre-pandemic.%20This%20could%20be%20down%20to%20Covid%20%u201Cproviding%20a%20reason%u201D%20for%20feelings%20of%20anxiety%20and%20making%20it%20less%20likely%20for%20people%20to%20blame%20their%20own%20disposition%2C%20the%20authors%20suggested.%0A%0AThe%20reduction%20in%20neuroticism%20had%20disappeared%20by%20the%20second%20half%20of%20the%20pandemic%20%282021-2022%29%2C%20the%20study%20suggested%2C%20and%20was%20replaced%20by%20declines%20in%20extraversion%2C%20openness%2C%20agreeableness%2C%20and%20conscientiousness%20compared%20to%20pre-pandemic%20personality.%20The%20changes%20were%20about%20one-tenth%20of%20a%20standard%20deviation%2C%20equivalent%20to%20the%20size%20of%20fluctuation%20typically%20seen%20over%20a%20decade%20of%20life.%20Younger%20adults%20showed%20the%20biggest%20changes%20and%20the%20oldest%20group%20of%20adults%20had%20no%20significant%20changes%20in%20traits.%0A%0AAccording%20to%20the%20authors%2C%20personality%20tends%20to%20be%20more%20malleable%20in%20younger%20adults%20and%20the%20pandemic%20may%20have%20also%20had%20a%20more%20negative%20impact%20on%20this%20age%20group.%0A%0A%u201CAlthough%20the%20pandemic%20was%20stressful%20for%20everyone%2C%20it%20disrupted%20the%20normative%20tasks%20of%20younger%20adulthood%2C%20such%20as%20school%20and%20the%20transition%20into%20the%20workforce%20and%20being%20sociable%20and%20developing%20relationships%2C%u201D%20said%20Sutin.%20%u201CIt%20is%20speculative%20because%20we%20did%20not%20measure%20reasons%20for%20the%20change%2C%20but%20this%20disruption%20may%20have%20had%20a%20larger%20impact%20on%20younger%20adults%20because%20these%20tasks%20are%20very%20important%20for%20this%20age%20group.%u201D%0A%0AThe%20researchers%20will%20continue%20monitoring%20the%20cohort%20to%20see%20whether%20the%20personality%20shifts%20are%20temporary%20or%20more%20enduring.%0A%0A%u201CIt%u2019s%20interesting%20to%20see%20this%20average%20effect%2C%20despite%20the%20fact%20that%20people%20must%20deal%20with%20the%20things%20going%20on%20quite%20differently%2C%u201D%20said%20Prof%20Wiebke%20Bleidorn%2C%20a%20psychologist%20at%20the%20University%20of%20Zurich%2C%20who%20was%20not%20involved%20in%20the%20research.%20%u201COne%20interpretation%20is%20that%20not%20having%20the%20normal%20formative%20experiences%20put%20development%20on%20hold.%20It%20will%20be%20interesting%20to%20see%20if%20%u2026%20these%20traits%20bounce%20back.%u201D