Personality and Mental Illness: Do Emotional Stability and Emotional Well-Being Predict Psychopathology
Sage Robert- Emporia State University
The present research tested the hypothesis that individuals who score high in emotional stability and high in emotional well-being will have lower predictability of a mental illness diagnosis. Participants completed a three-part survey measuring personality, emotional well-being, and psychopathology. The International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), and psychopathology via self-report were used to collect data. Emotional stability and emotional well-being were statistically significant. Emotional stability is the more accurate predictor of a mental illness diagnosis. Limitations, future directions, as well as implications for Big-Five personality traits and emotional well-being as predictors of psychopathology are discussed.
I think this is a great presentation! Well done!
I found your results particularly interesting, especially those in Table 1. I would be curious to see the demographics you collected for this study. Do you think any of the demographics played a role in your overall findings?
Hello,
You raise a great point. Out of 129 participants, 119 indicated their race and age but 10 did not include a response. 76.0% report as white, 7.0% report as Black or African-American, 6.2% report as Asian, 1.6% report as American Indian or Alaskan Native, 0.8% report as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 0.8% report as Hispanic (Table 8).
The age range for participants extended from 18 to 60 and older. Out of the participants who responded to the question, 45.38% registered between the ages 30 to 39. 33.6% reported as 21 to 29, 10.1% as 40 to 49, 6.72% as 50 to 59, 3.36% as 60 or older, and 1.00% as 18 to 20. I do think that the demographics played an influential role in my results. I would be curious to study individuals of minority. We know that individuals of minority do not have the same opportunities in regards to mental health. There may be other variables that future studies should address. The variables could include topics of sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, peer reports, and other individualistic scales for self-reported emotions.
Excellent study! What future directions do you plan to take concerning psychopathology, emotional stability, and emotional-well being?
Hi Grace,
Wonderful question! Future research can obtain mental illness records of participants and confirm any mental illness diagnosis from their charts. This would ensure factual information to connect measures to psychopathology. The fundamental issues revolving around race and psychology should be included in future research. The stressors that are associated with race can be contributors to illness and particular severities of illnesses. The access to resources and opportunities are also contributors to effective treatment and are not equal for everyone. The preexisting measures (IPIP and OHQ) added reliability, replicability, comparison for future studies. Expanding the literature on the correlative relationship between personality and mental illness could create tailored options for prevention of a mental illness diagnosis or even treatment.
– SR
This is a great study! Do you think you would be able to take this a step further and predict specific psychopathology? In other words, do you think you could use this research to help predict depression or anxiety disorder specifically? Hopefully, that makes sense!
Hi Jadyn,
I understand the question. What I am hoping from this study, it that in the future I will be able to
Since I studied the pattern of the intercorrelations between the IPIP and the OHQ, I was able to predict the likelihood of a mental illness present. I wish it were easier for me to find a straightforward prediction but I feel this study is not quite there … yet. The results can further benefit what is known about self-reported ideas on personality and EWB in relation to mental illness. The study established a better understanding of the relationship between the Big-Five and EWB as predictors of Psychopathology.
– SR