Is generalized anxiety disorder associated with Big 5 traits beyond neuroticsm?
Faculty Advisor
Date
2025
Keywords
generalized anxiety disorder, GAD, neuroticism, introversion, Big Five Traits
Abstract (summary)
Previous studies have established that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is significantly associated with high neuroticism, and potentially high introversion (low extraversion), but fewer studies have examined the association between GAD and the other aspects of the Big Five. The aim of this study was to compare people low in GAD symptoms versus people high in GAD symptoms on each of the Big Five Inventory-II factors. Participants consisted of 1020 university students, who completed the study online. Participants were first separated into two groups based on whether they were above or below the clinical cut-off score on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV (GADQ-IV). We also created a separate grouping variable that allowed us to compare participants in the top 16% of GADQ-IV scores against participants in the lowest 16% of GADQ-IV scores. Two sets of independent samples t-tests were conducted on these variables. In both sets of analyses, participants with high GAD symptoms were significantly higher in neuroticism and introversion, and surprisingly lower in agreeableness and conscientiousness. We then conducted a multiple regression to see which of the Big Five variables uniquely predicted GAD symptoms. As expected, neuroticism had the strongest association with GAD symptoms. The only other significant predictor of GAD symptoms was higher conscientiousness scores. The unexpected finding that higher conscientiousness also predicted GAD symptoms suggests that traits typically viewed as productive may play a role in GAD. These include a strong desire for order and responsibility, which may contribute to GAD through mechanisms such as perfectionism.
Publication Information
DOI
Notes
Presented on May 2, 2025, at the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies conference in Banff, Alberta.
Item Type
Student Presentation
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Rights
All Rights Reserved