Page 49 - GHES-3-3

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Personality and adolescent mental health

A significant aspect of longitudinal research is the health, or community violence, to predict mental health
understanding of how personality traits interact with and behavioral outcomes. While longitudinal research
environmental factors. Adolescents exposed to negative has provided valuable insights into trait stability and
environments, such as those characterized by family changes over time, more studies are needed to explore
discord, economic hardship, or negative peer influences, are how adolescents’ environments can either mitigate or
more likely to exhibit maladaptive traits such as aggression exacerbate the effects of maladaptive personality traits such
and low agreeableness (Cerniglia et al., 2023; Harold & as neuroticism or low conscientiousness. Understanding
Sellers, 2018; van Eldik et al., 2021). These environmental these interactions is critical for developing targeted
stressors exacerbate existing personality vulnerabilities, interventions that account for both the individual’s
leading to poorer mental health outcomes and a higher personality and their environment.
likelihood of engaging in antisocial behavior. Longitudinal There is also a need for research focusing on under-
studies underscore the importance of addressing both researched traits, such as openness to experience, which has
personality traits and environmental influences to prevent been less frequently examined in the context of adolescent
negative life outcomes (Cui et al., 2024; Hill et al., 2011; mental health. In contrast to traits such as neuroticism,
Hopwood et al., 2011; Joshanloo, 2024; Mund et al., 2020). conscientiousness, and extraversion, openness to

On the other hand, adolescents who experience positive experience remains relatively understudied in adolescent
environmental influences, such as strong family support, populations. Several factors may contribute to this gap.
positive peer interactions, and access to mental health First, openness is a multifaceted construct encompassing
resources, often show improvements in personality traits creativity, curiosity, and a preference for novelty, which can
such as conscientiousness and emotional stability over be challenging to operationalize and measure in younger
time (Bühler et al., 2024; Collado-Soler et al., 2023; Israel populations whose cognitive and emotional capacities
et al., 2022; van Eldik et al., 2021). These supportive are still developing. In addition, existing assessment tools
environments help adolescents develop coping skills, may not capture the nuanced expression of openness in
emotional resilience, and adaptive behaviors, which, in adolescents, and cultural variations in valuing exploratory
turn, contribute to better mental health and social outcomes behavior further complicate its evaluation. From an
(Acoba, 2024; Frydenberg et al., 2021; Konaszewski et al., intervention standpoint, the limited focus on openness
2021; Maloney et al., 2024; Mesman et al., 2021; Steinhoff carries important implications for adolescent mental
et al., 2023). Interventions that focus on improving the health. Adolescents with high levels of openness may
social and emotional environments of adolescents can exhibit adaptive qualities, such as innovative problem-
have a profound impact on their personality development, solving, flexibility in coping with stress, and creative
fostering traits that promote long-term well-being and expression – factors that could be leveraged to enhance
success (García-Carrión et al., 2019; Maloney et al., 2024; resilience and overall well-being. Conversely, a failure
Sancassiani et al., 2015). to recognize and nurture this trait may result in missed
opportunities to develop interventions that harness these
7. Future directions strengths. Future research that explores openness in
7.1. Research gaps greater depth could provide critical insights into how this
trait influences mental health outcomes and inform the
Despite significant advances in understanding the development of tailored intervention strategies that not
relationship between personality traits and mental health only mitigate risk but also promote adaptive functioning
outcomes in adolescence, several research gaps remain. and personal growth.
One notable gap is the limited cross-cultural research on
how personality traits develop and manifest across different 7.2. Implications for policy and intervention
societies. More research is needed to explore how cultural programs
factors influence the expression and outcomes of traits The findings from longitudinal studies and dimensional
such as CU characteristics, impulsivity, and agreeableness. assessments of personality have significant implications
Cultural context can shape the social acceptability of for policy and intervention programs aimed at improving
certain behaviors, such as aggression or risk-taking, adolescent mental health. One of the key takeaways from
which, in turn, affects how these behaviors are viewed and the literature is the importance of early identification
addressed in different parts of the world. and intervention for adolescents at risk of developing
Another gap is the need for longitudinal studies that maladaptive personality traits or mental health disorders.
examine how personality traits interact with Screening tools could be integrated into school-based
environmental stressors, such as poverty, parental mental mental health programs to identify students who may

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 41 https://doi.org/10.36922/GHES025080013