- Two personality profiles identified via k-means clustering, with modest separation (average silhouette width 0.185), in 2,169 Italian adults post-COVID emergency.
- Vulnerable profile (n=1,056) marked by low emotional stability and conscientiousness reported higher anxiety, depression, and perceived stress versus resourceful profile.
- Effect sizes substantial: anxiety g=0.74, depression g=0.76, stress g=0.86, resilience resources lower g=-1.02; findings non-diagnostic and not causal.
Front Psychiatry. 2026 Jul 24;17:1868864. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1868864. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Psychological recovery after the acute COVID-19 emergency has been uneven, and brief non-diagnostic markers that stratify vulnerability may support public mental health monitoring. We examined whether person-centered Big Five profiles differentiated self-reported distress and resilience resources among adults living in Italy after the end of the World Health Organization-declared COVID-19 public health emergency.
METHODS: This cross-sectional anonymous online survey included 2,169 adults assessed between 22 May 2023 and 23 December 2024. Participants completed the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), and Resilience Scale for Adults-11 (RSA-11). Standardized Big Five scores were clustered using k-means, and the number of profiles was evaluated using elbow, silhouette, and hierarchical-clustering methods.
RESULTS: A two-profile solution was retained, although separation was modest (average silhouette width = 0.185). Compared with the resourceful trait profile (n = 1,113), the vulnerable trait profile (n = 1,056), characterized especially by lower emotional stability and conscientiousness, reported higher anxiety symptoms (g = 0.74), depressive symptoms (g = 0.76), and perceived stress (g = 0.86), and lower resilience resources (g = -1.02; all p < 0.001).
DISCUSSION: Brief person-centered Big Five profiling differentiated adults with greater self-reported symptom burden and fewer resilience resources in a prolonged post-emergency context. These findings are non-diagnostic and do not establish COVID-specific causal mechanisms, but may inform vulnerability stratification during future prolonged crises.
PMID:42568908 | PMC:PMC13448549 | DOI:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1868864
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