At a glance
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Personality traits explain significant risk: Around 25% of mental health risk is linked to traits like neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
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Dual reporting improved accuracy: Using both self and observer ratings helped reduce bias and produce more reliable findings.
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Traits influence but don’t determine outcomes: Mental health is shaped by many factors, and personality alone doesn’t predict individual experiences.
Personality traits may play a much bigger role in mental health than previously believed, according to a new study. Researchers found that traits like neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness explain around a quarter of the overall risk for conditions such as depression, anxiety, and phobias.
The study, led by teams from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Tartu in Estonia, analysed data from over 16,000 people in the Estonian Biobank. Participants reported on their personality using the “Big Five” traits, extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness, and were also rated by someone who knew them well. The researchers looked at both general mental health risk and specific issues like fatigue, fear, inattention, and hyperactivity.
They found personality to be one of the most reliable indicators of mental health problems, more than previous studies had shown. About 25% of the risk could be linked to personality traits, and another 25% of the risk for specific conditions could also be explained by these traits.
People more at risk of general mental health problems tended to be higher in neuroticism, higher in agreeableness, and lower in conscientiousness. However, some issues, such as sleep problems, didn’t show strong connections to personality.
“By combining data from two sources, we were able to overcome common problems in personality assessments, such as response bias and other types of measurement error,” said Professor René Mõttus of the University of Edinburgh. “This allowed us to estimate the associations much more accurately.”
The researchers emphasised that personality doesn’t dictate mental health outcomes.
“Many people whose traits might statistically predict poor mental health report great well-being,” said lead author Helo Liis Soodla of the University of Tartu. “Conversely, many people who experience mental health problems at some point in their lives do not appear to be at risk based on their personality traits.”
She added,
“In any given individual, a number of things can affect mental health, from genetic risk variants to stressful childhood events. Each factor on its own accounts for only a tiny proportion of the risk of poor mental health. And much is simply down to luck.”
The researchers hope that understanding how traits influence mental health could lead to more effective preventative measures and interventions.
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