Contrary to popular belief, the psychological impacts of social distancing and lockdown measures are hitting introverted individuals harder than their extraverts counterparts, according to new research published in Frontiers in Psychology.
The study suggests that personality dispositions can play an important role in how people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures.
“I was motivated to conduct this research in light of the wave of internet content being circulated depicting how introverts and extraverts are responding to lockdown and social distancing measures imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” explained study author Maryann Wei, a PhD student at the University of Wollongong.
“This wave of content points to a common belief among the general public that introverts are faring better than extraverts (e.g. user-generated pictorial content, more colloquially known as ‘memes’). However, the assumption seems counterintuitive in light of several previously documented characteristics of introverts, such as the tendency to experience emotions more intensely. I wanted to empirically test the claim that introverts are faring better than their extraverted counterparts.”
For the study, Wei used the online social media forum Reddit to recruit 114 individuals from around the world. Most of these individuals came from the United States. The rest came from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Germany.
Introversion was measured with a questionnaire in which participants were asked to indicate whether 18 statements applied to them. For example, “Can you usually let yourself go and have a good time at a party?” and “Are you inclined to keep in the background on social occasions?” The participants also completed various psychological assessments to measure the psychological impact of changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wei found that those who were more introverted tended to report heightened depressive symptoms and anxiety following the implementation of COVID-19 social distancing and lockdown measures compared to those who were less introverted. Among residents of the United States, higher introversion also predicted higher levels of loneliness.
“The introversion/extraversion dichotomy is more complex than typically given credit for. Introverts may be less vocal on lockdown measures not necessarily by virtue of enjoying distance apart from other people, but by virtue of the tendency to withdraw when experiencing mental health issues,” Wei told PsyPost.
The study controlled for a number of potentially confounding variables, including age, gender, living condition and recent unemployment. But like all research, the study includes some limitations.
“This research was conducted with a predominantly USA-based sample. Given the global scale of the pandemic, and that the impact of COVID-19 may vary between countries, further research is warranted with a more geographically heterogeneous population to see if present findings are generalizable,” Wei said.
(Readers who wish to get in touch with Wei with questions about the research can contact her at mws396@uowmail.edu.au.)
The study, “Social Distancing and Lockdown – An Introvert’s Paradise? An Empirical Investigation on the Association Between Introversion and the Psychological Impact of COVID19-Related Circumstantial Changes“, was published on September 17, 2020.
(Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay)