those over the age of 65. Those who were between the ages of 30 and 64 were a close second.
Approximately a year into the pandemic, however, those numbers changed. The most affected group became those between the ages of 18 and 29.
Interestingly, researchers found that while younger adults had higher levels of neuroticism before the pandemic, they suffered from a decline in conscientiousness and agreeableness from 2021 to 2022.
Additionally, middle-aged people remained the second most affected group and felt the same effects as young adults. On the other hand, older adults showed signs of returning to their usual pre-pandemic personality traits.
When researchers studied the ethnic breakdown of the pandemic’s effect on personality traits, they found that non-white persons might have more significant changes than white people.
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How Experts Think You Should Handle It
You might be wondering why anyone would care about personality changes in the first place. Well, studies show that your personality traits have an impact on certain aspects of your life. For example, neuroticism and conscientiousness are associated with doing well in relationships, careers, and educational ventures. Those traits can also influence your overall physical and mental health.
The general concern is that if those who’ve been affected do nothing, they could experience a variety of problems later in life. Though the changes are significant, they don’t have to be permanent. Health experts suggest that you talk to a therapist or counselor to assess how you’ve been affected by the pandemic. Since older adults were able to rebound over time, young and middle-aged adults can return to their pre-pandemic personality traits as well.
Given everything that has happened, it might not surprise you that the pandemic has changed anyone’s personality traits. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to learn how to handle and cope with these changes. Apart from taking care of your health, it can help to talk to a therapist so you can have the skills you need.