Big Five personality traits and COVID-19 precautionary behaviors among older adults in Europe

Objectives: Taking precaution against COVID-19 is important among older adults who have a greater risk for severe illness if infected. We examined whether Big Five personality traits are associated with COVID-19 precautionary behaviors among older adults in Europe. Method: We used data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (N=34 629). Personality was self-reported in 2017 using the BFI-10 inventory. COVID-19 precautionary behaviors – wearing a mask, limiting in-person contacts, keeping distance to others, washing hands, and using disinfectant – were assessed in the summer of 2020 through self-reports. Associations between personality and precautionary behaviors were examined with multilevel random-intercept logistic regression models. The models were adjusted for age, gender, educational attainment, and country of residence. Results: Personality traits were differentially associated with precautionary behaviors, with higher openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism showing most consistent associations. The associations between personality and practicing precautionary behaviors were relatively weak (OR range from 1.03 to 1.19 per 1 SD difference in a trait) in comparison to the associations between sociodemographic factors and precautionary behaviors. Conclusions: Among older adults, taking COVID-19 precautionary behaviors was most consistently related to higher openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, suggesting that precautionary behaviors may be motivated by multiple psychological differences.