Individual differences, personality, social, family and work variables on mental health during COVID-19 outbreak in Spain

Spain is one of the countries with the highest number of Covid-19 cases per habitant. On March 14, 2020, the Government declared the State of Alarm which included the mandatory confinement of all citizens. On March 30 and April 11, we surveyed 1659 adults to research the relevance of social/work status and personality variables in the prediction of psychological health (anxiety, depression and life satisfaction). Results indicated that women and young reported higher anxiety, depression, conflict between work and family relationship, conscientiousness, and extraversion. Men reported higher emotional stability. The variables considered predicted a substantial percentage of variance on anxiety (36%), depression (38%) and life satisfaction (19%), with a significant relative contribution of personality traits. People with poorer psychological health also showed more conflict between work and family relationships. Working at office was more related to anxiety while working at home was more related to depression. We noted that the influence of impact of job status and conflict between work and family relationship as mental health as performance might depend on individual differences. Depression, anxiety and life satisfaction were predicted by personality and social/work variables, which highlights the importance of consider these variables to address mental health in this situation.

Automated summary

Spain has one of the highest Covid-19 case rates per habitant. The study found that women, young people, and those working from home were more likely to experience anxiety and depression. Personality traits significantly impacted mental health, with work-family conflict also playing a role.