Personality Traits and Resilience of People with Bereaved Experiences Due to COVID-19: Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Worldwide, the mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 has been inclined to around 68 million by the end of January 2023. Many people lost their family members due to the virus attack or its comorbid complications. Mourning the loss of a loved one is a painful time, but the ability to handle this stress may vary from person to person. It could be a result of their personality traits and inner capabilities, such as self-efficacy. This study aimed to understand the role of personality traits and self-efficacy on the resilience of bereaved individuals. Convenience sampling was employed to recruit a total of 237 participants who had lost loved ones to COVID-19 (father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, and distant relatives). After explaining the objective of the study and taking informed consent, they were administered using brief resilience scale, a big five personality inventory, and general self-efficacy questionnaire. Self-efficacy and resilience were found to have a positive correlation, while neuroticism and resilience had a negative correlation. In addition, the mediation analysis revealed that self-efficacy acted as an important mediator between personality traits (Openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism) and resilience. Individuals with strong self-efficacy were able to return to their usual state more quickly than those with low self-efficacy, as indicated by the results. However, attributes such as openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, together with self-efficacy, might enhance resilience. Therefore, the study strongly suggests incorporating self-efficacy into the design of therapeutic programs for coping with bereavement. � The Author(s) 2023.