Chunk #38 — CAUSAL LINKS BETWEEN NEUROTICISM AND ADVERSE OUTCOMES — Causal Links Between Neuroticism and Mental Disorders — 3. Neuroticism and emotional reactivity to stressful life events
The construct of neuroticism would have little meaning if persons high in neuroticism did not respond with negative emotions more frequently and intensely when they experience stressful life events. There is mounting evidence in support of the construct, however. For example, participants with high neuroticism scores responded to a standard negative mood induction task with more negative affect than participants lower in neuroticism (Larsen & Ketelaar, 1991). Similarly, a 30-day daily diary study of persons with rheumatoid arthritis found that persons with higher neuroticism scores experienced greater negative affect on days when negative events occurred than persons with lower neuroticism scores did (Zautra, Affleck, Tennen, Reich, & Davis, 2005). Moreoever, there is replicated evidence from longitudinal studies that persons with high neuroticism scores are more likely than other persons to develop anxiety and depression following negative life events (Fanous et al., 2002; Hutchinson & Williams, 2007; Jacobs et al., 2006; Kendler et al., 2004; Ormel & Wohlfarth, 1991; Parslow et al., 2006).
