Depressive symptoms are more influenced by personality traits and styles than working in nursing—a study during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

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BackgroundAccording to literature, the COVID-19 pandemic caused stressful working conditions for nurses, which may have a negative impact on their Well-Being and mental health.AimTo investigate whether nurses and non-helping professionals differ in their Well-Being. Furthermore, we analyzed, for the first time, which personality traits and styles are a risk factor for nurses’ wellbeing during COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsIn an online survey, the following psychological tests were used on nursing staff (n = 518) and non-helping professionals (n = 335): WHO-Five (WHO-5), the Personality, Style and Disorder Inventory (PSSI), and the Freiburg Personality Inventory-Revised (FPI-R).ResultsNurses and non-helping professionals did not differ significantly in terms of Well-Being. The Well-Being of nurses was correlated with the following personality traits and styles, namely Spontaneous-Borderline Personality Style, Silent-Depressive Personality Style, Strain, Emotionality, and Life Satisfaction. According to our results, 33% of participants suffered from clinically significant depressive symptoms.DiscussionAccording to our results, nurses are not more at risk for depression. However, it was shown that Well-Being during the pandemic is highly dependent on personality.ConclusionSpecific personality traits and styles are a greater predictor of depressive symptoms than profession. The stressful occupational environment during COVID-19 pandemic is not the only cause for depressive symptoms in nurses. Psychotherapeutic interventions are especially important for particular individuals and are necessary to prevent depressive symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• COVID-19 pandemic
• nurses
• personality
• well-being
• depression