Life satisfaction and mental health trajectories surrounding stressful life events: The role of personality

Individuals could have different reactions in different facets of their well-being surrounding stressful life events, offering an opportunity to understand factors that contribute to resilience and identify high-risk individuals. In this study, we aim to explore trajectories of life satisfaction and mental health around and during three stressful life events (unemployment, divorce, and widowhood) and to examine whether personality (i.e., the Big Five traits and resilience versus non-resilience types) can predict life satisfaction and mental health development surround these life events. Data from participants in the Netherlands (LISS panel), Germany (PAIRFAM panel), and China (CFPS panel) will be analyzed using growth-mixture modeling. The findings of this study might help to utilize personality traits as indicators for the early identification of high-risk individuals.