Personality and responses to Covid-19 health and safety prevention

Abstract In this study, we examine the respective effects of prosocial personality and grandiose narcissism on individual social responsibility, and attitudinal and behavioral responses to Covid-19 health and safety preventive measures. We further analyze the extent to which individuals feel targeted by bullies for wearing a mask in order to shed light on the psychological consequences of the current pandemic. We employed a cross-sectional technique using a snowball sampling method to recruit participants from the United States and Canada. We obtained a total of 968 completed surveys. Results of SEM reveal that prosocial personality enhances individual social responsibility and positive responses to health and safety preventive measures, whereas grandiose narcissism augments negative responses. Results highlight that socially responsible individuals report being bullied for wearing a mask. Findings are discussed in light of the characteristics of the respondents, and cultural aspects.