Abstract
Global pandemics, economic recessions, climate change, and warfare are just some of the few crises plaguing the population worldwide, bringing major changes to the ways people work, live, and connect to others. This time of uncertainty has ushered in a wave of anxiety that threatens to crush some while it propels others to new levels of resilience. Recent publications in positive psychology ask why this is—Why are some individuals able to find social and emotional balance after trauma? Why do others struggle? What interventions can improve mental health outcomes in times of crisis? The purpose of this paper is to examine how anxiety and resilience are shaped by both personality traits and cultural context during periods of global crisis, with a particular focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the Big Five personality framework, the paper first explores how traits such as agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism predict variations in anxiety levels and how they correspond to resilience. Then, the paper investigates how cultural dynamics—specifically collectivism and individualism—influences the way people manage trauma, positing predictions for various types of global crises. By analyzing both internal dispositions and external cultural values, this paper offers a dynamic perspective of the psychological mechanisms that underlie resilience in the face of global crises.
Keywords: Anxiety, Resilience, Personality, Culture, COVID-19
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