Chunk #34 — CAUSAL LINKS BETWEEN NEUROTICISM AND ADVERSE OUTCOMES — Causal Links Between Neuroticism and Mental Disorders — 2. Neuroticism, stressful events, and social support
The second hypothesized causal link between neuroticism and mental disorders is an indirect link through negative life events and social support. There is evidence from a number of longitudinal studies that persons high in neuroticism live their lives in ways that increase the likelihood of many kinds of negative life events. For example, individuals with high neuroticism scores are more likely to experience daily hassles, have conflicted and unstable relationships with friends, experience stressful physical health problems, and lose employment (Bolger & Zuckerman, 1995; Gunthert, Cohen, & Armeli, 1999; Hankin, Fraley, & Abela, 2005; Kendler, Gardner, & Prescott, 2003; Magnus, Diener, Fujita, & Pavot, 1993; Suls & Martin, 2005; van Os, Park, & Jones, 2001). This is the case both when the life events are subjectively judged to be stressful by the individual and when they are objectively rated by experimenters blind to neuroticism scores (Bolger & Zuckerman, 1995; Gunthert et al., 1999; Hankin et al., 2005; Kendler et al., 2003; Magnus et al., 1993; Suls & Martin, 2005; van Os et al., 2001). The higher frequency of stressful events
