Introverts or extroverts, who is worse off in the pandemic?

 In our society, extroverts start with a certain advantage. Their propensity to establish interpersonal bonds and social skills give them an edge that paves the way for success. But in today's circumstances, forced to keep social distances and subjected to more or less long house confinements, introverted people have one more ace up their sleeve.

Introverts have an advantage in coping with loneliness because their well-being is less dependent on social interactions than extroverts. In fact, psychologists at the University of Bern found that introversion as a personality trait is key, although it is not enough to protect our emotional well-being in these circumstances, so they delved into the strategies introverts use to cope with stress. and protect their mental balance .

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In general, when we are faced with uncertain and challenging situations that generate great stress, we can implement two strategies of emotional regulation. Adaptive strategies help us feel better, while maladaptive strategies fuel unpleasant feelings.

Therefore, these psychologists have focused on evaluating the strategies people use to deal with the pandemic based on their personality characteristics. They also looked at the impact of these strategies on their mental health.

They found that people with poorer mental health who were having difficulty coping with the reality of the pandemic had three things in common:

1. Catastrophism. They continually thought about how terrible the situation they were going through was.

2. Rumination. They were not only worried about the current situation, but also about what they were feeling and what might happen.

3. External locus of control . They blamed others for everything that was happening.

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These psychologists have also found that there are several emotional regulation strategies that protect our mental health in times of crisis by acting as a protective shield.

1. Focus on planning. Although in the midst of a pandemic many things are beyond our control, people who cope best with the aftermath strive to plan what they can do and try to use their time productively.

2. Distraction. People dealing with the pandemic and confinement try to think of pleasant things that have nothing to do with the current situation, which acts as a safety valve.

3. Put things into perspective. These people try to take a psychological distance from what is happening by putting things in perspective, telling themselves that there are worse things in life.

4. Radical acceptance . The people who cope best with the pandemic and confinement are those who do what they can to accept reality, rather than deny it or complain.

5. Reassess the situation. An important strategy for dealing with adversity is to strive to learn from the situation, learn the lesson and mature.

People with a higher level of introversion who were able to resort to these emotional regulation strategies better preserved their well-being and found relief in loneliness. One of the keys could be that, compared to extroverts, introverts tend to focus more on their inner world, so that their well-being essentially depends on their internal processes, while for extroverts the quality and quantity of social interactions are more important. .

Extroverts may not have the same psychological resources to deal with the challenges posed by a pandemic because they are overly dependent on their social support networks, which are less available right now. This can make extroverts feel more exhausted and lonely than usual, which affects their mental health.

Another study from Florida State University shows that extroverts are more concerned about their health and the economy during the pandemic.

Therefore, introversion is an advantageous trait to avoid the harm that unselected loneliness can cause, but we must use appropriate emotional regulation strategies to more positively reframe the negative emotions we may feel.

Sources:

Gubler, DA et. Al. (2020) Loneliness and well-being during the covid-19 pandemic: Associations with personality and emotion regulation. Journal of Happiness Studies ; doi: 10.1007 / s10902-020-00326-5.

Buecker, S. (2020) Loneliness and the big five personality traits: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Personality  ; 34 (1): 8–28.

Aschwanden, D. et. Al. (2020) Psychological and Behavioral Responses to Coronavirus Disease 2019: The Role of Personality. European Journal of Personality ; DOI: 10.1002 / per.2281.