The available report does not provide the sample size, sampling procedures, detailed measurements or uncertainty estimates, limiting assessment of the findings’ precision and representativeness. Openness, extraversion and neuroticism each had positive associations with interpersonal estrangement. For agreeableness and extraversion, the indirect effects through social support were negative: higher social support was associated with a lower likelihood of estrangement.

Neuroticism showed a positive indirect effect, a pattern the researchers described as suggesting that its association with estrangement may occur partly through reduced social support. Together, the findings connect individual personality dispositions, perceived social support and later reports of interpersonal estrangement during a period of societal disruption. The study’s two-stage community assessment provides a temporal comparison, but the available summary leaves open other explanations for the observed associations, including factors not examined in the report.

The magnitude and practical importance of the effects also cannot be judged from the summary alone. The results therefore offer a nuanced picture: personality traits and social support were related to reported estrangement, with different patterns of direct and indirect association, while the observational evidence stops short of showing that any one factor determined the outcome.

Subject of Research: Associations among Big Five personality traits, social support and interpersonal estrangement during the COVID-19 pandemic

Article Title: Interpersonal Estrangement in a Time of Crisis: Personality, Social Support, and Severed Ties during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Article References: Morstead, T., Rashidi, R., Sin, N. L., & DeLongis, A. (2026). Interpersonal Estrangement in a Time of Crisis: Personality, Social Support, and Severed Ties during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Current Psychology, 45(21), Article 1641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-10232-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s12144-026-10232-3

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, interpersonal estrangement, social support, Big Five personality, openness, extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, community sample, follow-up survey, Interpersonal, Estrangement

The researchers examined the relationship between Big Five personality traits and a multidimensional assessment of lifestyle in a large student sample. Participants completed a web-based survey measuring openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism with the 44-item Big Five Inventory. Their lifestyles were assessed using the University Self-report Multidimensional Inventory of Lifestyle Evaluation, or U-SMILE.

Lifestyle scores were linearly transformed to a 0–100 scale, while the personality traits were converted to z-scores. Multiple linear regression models estimated the associations between each personality trait and lifestyle score while adjusting for age, gender, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, field of study, household income and employment status. This approach estimates whether personality differences were associated with lifestyle differences beyond the demographic and social variables included in the analysis.

Extraversion had the strongest positive association among the five traits. For each one-standard-deviation increase in extraversion, the model estimated a 1.95-point increase in the lifestyle score, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.35 to 2.55. Openness was associated with a 1.04-point increase per standard deviation, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.47 to 1.61, while agreeableness was associated with a 0.59-point increase, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.07 to 1.12. Each of these confidence intervals excluded zero, indicating statistically significant adjusted associations in the sample.

Neuroticism showed the opposite direction. A one-standard-deviation increase in neuroticism was associated with a 1.89-point reduction in the lifestyle score, with a 95% confidence interval from −2.37 to −1.40. The estimate for conscientiousness indicated a 0.36-point reduction, but its 95% confidence interval, from −0.88 to 0.17, included zero and was therefore not statistically significant. The results identify extraversion and neuroticism as the most prominent personality correlates in the models, with openness and agreeableness showing smaller positive relationships.

The participants had a mean age of 25.1 years, a standard deviation of 8.5 years and a median age of 22. Most were female, accounting for 72.5% of the sample, and the researchers described the participants as similarly distributed between the two institutions. Age, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, household income and employment status were associated with lifestyle scores in the analysis; gender was not associated with lifestyle.

Because the study was cross-sectional and based on self-report, its findings describe relationships measured at one point in time rather than changes over time or causal effects. The design cannot determine whether personality influences lifestyle, whether lifestyle is related to personality, or whether other factors contribute to both. It also does not establish that altering a personality trait would produce a corresponding change in behavior, and the study did not test whether personality-based lifestyle interventions could improve mental health promotion in universities.

The sample size and the number of demographic and social variables included in the adjusted models provide a detailed snapshot of personality–lifestyle associations in the participating student population. Generalization is limited by the self-reported measures and the inclusion of students from only two institutions. Within those boundaries, the analysis shows that the Big Five traits did not contribute equally: extraversion and neuroticism had the clearest independent associations with the broad lifestyle score, openness and agreeableness had smaller positive associations, and conscientiousness showed no clear association after adjustment.

Subject of Research: Big Five personality traits and multidimensional lifestyle patterns in Brazilian undergraduate students

Article Title: Big five personality traits and lifestyle: a cross-sectional study in brazilian undergraduate students

Article References: Fukuti, P., di Santi, T., Nascimento, A. G., Oliveira, L. C. D., Zuppi Garcia, L. A., Mancini, E. M. M., Cabrelon, V. C., Carrijo, L. D. F., Oliveira, M. C. D., Brañas, M. J. A. A., Croci, M. S., Aguiar-Borges, S., Santos, J. M., Sousa, N., Humes, E. D. C., Menezes, P. R., Miguel, E. C., & Caye, A. (2026). Big five personality traits and lifestyle: a cross-sectional study in brazilian undergraduate students. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05391-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05391-8

Keywords: Big Five personality, lifestyle patterns, extraversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, Brazilian students, cross-sectional study, regression analysis, mental health, five

Participants were aged 8 to 18, with a mean age of 13.97 years, and 55.7% were boys. Most, 69.4%, attended segregated special-education institutions, while 30.6% attended mainstream or integrative institutions. Physical or motor impairment was the most common diagnosis, accounting for 52.4% of the sample, followed by multiple disabilities, visual impairment, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, speech impairment, learning disability and hearing impairment. Recruitment through the National Federation of Disabled Students’ Sports, schools and community organisations provided broad access but was not based on a population sampling frame.

Researchers asked whether respondents would like to take part in a sports club where people with and without disabilities exercised together. They retained all three original response categories rather than combining “no” and “not interested” into a binary outcome. Because no separate questions established whether respondents had considered the offer, understood it in the same way or refused after active deliberation, the labels remain nominal. In particular, “not interested” cannot be interpreted as passive disengagement from sport, a distinction challenged by the finding that this group had the highest rate of participation outside physical education.

The survey also assessed seven domains in which disability might limit daily life: mobility, making friends, everyday tasks, leisure, learning, sport and social integration. These items had good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.851, and their correlations were moderate and consistently positive. A latent profile analysis divided respondents into low-, moderate- and high-limitation groups, representing 39.3%, 29.2% and 31.5% of classified cases. The groups differed mainly in overall severity rather than in the pattern of affected domains, indicating a gradient rather than distinct functional types.

A categorical latent class model provided a sensitivity check by treating the five-point limitation items as ordinal rather than Gaussian variables. It again produced an ordered low-to-high structure, assigning 87.6% of respondents to the same ordered category as the Gaussian analysis, with an adjusted Rand index of 0.689. Average posterior classification probabilities in the Gaussian model were high: 0.953 for the low-limitation group, 0.902 for the moderate group and 0.938 for the high group. Even so, three classes were selected for parsimony and interpretability rather than as a uniquely optimal statistical solution.

The main multinomial logistic regression modelled “yes” and “not interested” separately against “no.” Its explanatory power was modest, with McFadden’s R-squared of 0.088, meaning that most differences among the three responses remained unexplained. Liking sport was the strongest individual correlate: compared with young people who disliked sport, those who liked it had nearly three times the relative odds of saying “yes” rather than “no” and more than four times the odds of selecting “not interested” rather than “no.” These figures are not causal effects, however, and liking sport is conceptually close to willingness to enter a sport setting.

Awareness of provision was also associated with the responses. Knowing that integrated sport existed was linked to both “yes” and “not interested” rather than “no,” while knowing a relevant club showed the same general pattern. The relationship with perceived local availability was unexpectedly non-monotonic. Compared with respondents who did not know what was available locally, those who believed no integrated option existed had 2.73 times the relative odds of saying “yes” and 2.81 times the odds of saying “not interested.” Respondents who said an option did exist were more likely to choose “not interested” than “no.” The cross-sectional data cannot determine whether local provision changes interest or whether perceptions of availability are shaped by other factors.

Impairment type contributed to the model mainly in the contrast between “not interested” and “no.” Relative to young people with physical or motor impairments, those with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, multiple disabilities or intellectual disabilities had higher relative odds of selecting “not interested.” Estimates for the smallest groups were imprecise: hearing impairment included only nine participants and learning disability 30, producing wide confidence intervals. Continuous activity-limitation severity showed a weaker association with “not interested” than with “no,” but it did not significantly improve the full model, and adding the three limitation profiles also failed to produce a statistically significant overall gain.

Stated openness did not match actual sporting behaviour in a straightforward way. Overall, 59.4% of respondents took part in sport outside compulsory physical education, with similar proportions in the low-, moderate- and high-limitation groups. Among the three openness categories, 48.5% of those saying “no,” 61.5% of those saying “yes” and 73.9% of those saying “not interested” reported sport outside physical education. Among active respondents, however, participation frequency did not differ significantly across the categories. The results therefore show that a young person’s willingness to join an integrated club cannot be inferred from whether that person plays sport elsewhere.

The study’s practical message is exploratory rather than a tested prescription. Its results make visibility and signposting plausible subjects for future intervention research, especially because awareness of integrated sport and relevant clubs was associated with responses other than “no.” They also motivate evaluation of opportunities designed around enjoyment, competence, predictable structure and adaptation for young people with different support needs. None of those measures has yet been shown by this survey to cause greater openness. The authors emphasise that shared physical presence is not the same as inclusion, and that openness is not participation. Longitudinal and experimental research using validated measures will be needed to determine whether changes in awareness, access and the design of provision actually affect inclusion and sustained involvement.

Subject of Research: Correlates of stated openness to integrated sport among Hungarian youth with disabilities

Article Title: What is associated with openness to integrated sport among school-aged youth with disabilities? A cross-sectional study from Hungary

Article References: Müller, A., Lengyel, A., Mező, K., Bácsné Bába, É., Czimbalmos, N. L., Židek, P., & Mező, F. (2026). What is associated with openness to integrated sport among school-aged youth with disabilities? A cross-sectional study from Hungary. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 8, Article 1922255. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2026.1922255

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2026.1922255

Keywords: integrated sport, youth with disabilities, Hungary, sport participation, disability inclusion, latent profile analysis, multinomial regression, survey research, physical activity, associated, openness, integrated

The research, published in Discover Education by Akoto-Baako Hansen of the University of South Africa, set out to answer a deceptively simple question: which of the Big Five personality traits predict grit, the combination of perseverance and sustained interest in long term goals that psychologists have linked to academic attainment, retention and wellbeing. Grit has become one of the most studied noncognitive skills in education, but the evidence for which personality dispositions give rise to it has been inconsistent, particularly outside well resourced Western institutions.

What makes the study methodologically notable is its analytical machinery. Rather than relying on conventional regression, Hansen applied a family of techniques drawn from econometrics known as double machine learning and post double selection lasso. In these procedures, the lasso algorithm, which shrinks weak predictors to zero, is used purely as a variable selection and orthogonalisation device. After the algorithm identifies which covariates matter, the final coefficients and standard errors are estimated through ordinary least squares, preserving the interpretability of classical statistics while guarding against omitted variable bias and overfitting. Three complementary estimators were used, and a genuinely predictive, cross validated lasso model served as a convergent check.

The results were strikingly consistent across every specification. Openness to experience, the trait associated with intellectual curiosity, imagination and willingness to embrace new experiences, emerged as the strongest predictor of grit, with a standardised coefficient of roughly 0.55 across the inferential models. Conscientiousness, the trait of discipline, organisation and goal directed effort, followed closely with coefficients around 0.41. Extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism showed no meaningful association with grit in any specification, with confidence intervals spanning zero throughout.

The ordering matters. Meta analytic evidence drawn largely from Western populations has consistently identified conscientiousness as the dominant correlate of grit, with openness in a supporting role. In this Ghanaian sample, the hierarchy is reversed. The study offers a theoretical explanation grounded in Trait Activation Theory, which holds that personality traits remain latent until situational cues in the environment prompt their expression. In a teacher training college marked by limited teaching resources, large class sizes and unpredictable institutional conditions, the argument goes, those constraints act as powerful cues that activate adaptability and curiosity rather than routine discipline.

In other words, a highly organised but rigid student may struggle when power outages interrupt study sessions, learning materials arrive late, or timetables change abruptly. A student high in openness can improvise alternative strategies, treat obstacles as puzzles rather than barriers, and sustain motivation under uncertainty. Five Factor Theory complements this reading by treating grit as a characteristic adaptation, a habit shaped jointly by underlying dispositions and environmental demands. In this context, the adaptation draws more heavily on flexible curiosity than on structured self-discipline.

The descriptive statistics reinforce how distinctive this population is. Trainees reported high average grit, around 4.26 on a five point scale, and the distribution was strongly negatively skewed, with most students clustered at the upper end. Grit correlated strongly with openness and conscientiousness, with correlation coefficients of 0.62 and 0.56 respectively, magnitudes that exceed many reported in Western meta analyses. The intercorrelations among the five traits were low to moderate, easing concerns that the findings were an artefact of overlapping measures.

The predictive lasso model added a further layer of confirmation. Trained on a subsample and tuned through tenfold cross validation, the model retained nine of fourteen candidate covariates and explained close to 47 percent of the variance in grit scores on withheld data. Under this stricter predictive criterion, agreeableness and neuroticism were not merely statistically weak but dropped entirely from the model, receiving coefficients of exactly zero. Openness and conscientiousness survived with the largest coefficients, reinforcing the conclusion that these two traits carry the dominant association with grit in this setting.

The null results are themselves informative. The absence of a neuroticism effect departs from meta analytic findings that emotional instability typically undermines perseverance, and from a Turkish study reporting a negative association. The author suggests that the relationship may be nonlinear, or that Ghanaian trainees develop coping strategies that buffer the effects of emotional sensitivity. Similarly, the lack of an extraversion effect may reflect the collectivist cultural context, where the advantages of sociability for personal goal pursuit are less pronounced than in individualist settings.

For practitioners, the implications are concrete. Interventions aimed at building grit among prospective teachers in Ghana should prioritise cultivating openness, through problem based learning, exposure to diverse perspectives and independent exploration, alongside conscientiousness, through goal setting and self regulation training, rather than attempting to alter traits that appear irrelevant to persistence in this context. The study also offers a methodological template for educational psychology, demonstrating that machine learning tools can be harnessed for rigorous causal inference rather than mere prediction. The author cautions that the cross sectional design, the single institution sample and the reliance on self report limit generalisability, and calls for longitudinal and nonparametric follow ups. But the core message stands: the personality foundations of grit are not universal, and in resource constrained classrooms, curiosity may matter more than discipline.

Subject of Research: Predicting grit from Big Five personality traits among Ghanaian college students using regularisation-assisted machine learning methods

Article Title: Machine learning in predicting the effects of personality traits on college students’ grit in Ghana

Article References: Hansen, A.-B. (2026). Machine learning in predicting the effects of personality traits on college students’ grit in Ghana. Discover Education, 5(1), Article 1107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-026-02243-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44217-026-02243-w

Keywords: grit, Big Five personality traits, machine learning, double machine learning, lasso, teacher trainees, Ghana, openness, conscientiousness, educational psychology, Trait Activation Theory, noncognitive skills