Individual, gender differences and corona: The relationship between personality traits and gender differences with corona self care behaviour

Introduction: Currently, the corona virus has spread all over the world and has left various psychological effects on people in the community. In the meantime, some people are more caring about their behaviors, which can be for a variety of reasons. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits (conscientiousness and extraversion) and gender differences with self-care behaviors in the community of Kermanshah. Method: In this descriptive-correlational study, 304 adults in Kermanshah in 2020 were selected by convenience sampling method. Participants responded online (WhatsApp) to the Extraversion and Conscientiousness subscales of the short form of the 60-item Neo Questionnaire and the Self-Care Behavior Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-25 and linear regression analysis. Results: The results showed that in the first model, among the studied variables, gender was the best predictor of self-care. Gender 0.09 explained the changes in self-care variable (P<0.001 and F=17.30). In the second step, the variables of gender and conscientiousness were included in the study. These two variables together predicted 0.14 of the variances of the self-care variable (P<0.001 and F=13.98). Conclusion: These results showed that individuals with conscientious characteristics, as well as women, were more likely to follow corona-related self-care behaviors. These results will have practical implications for the development of interventions for current and future crises.