Three years after the world shut down, many of us still feel different. Maybe you’re more anxious than you used to be, or perhaps you’ve noticed you’re less interested in crowded social gatherings. It turns out these shifts might run deeper than lingering habits, new research suggests the COVID-19 pandemic may have actually altered fundamental personality traits across entire populations.
A comprehensive analysis published in the journal PNAS examined data from over 7,000 participants enrolled in the Understanding America Study, tracking personality changes before and during the pandemic. The findings challenge a long-held assumption in psychology: that adult personality remains relatively stable over time.
What the research actually found
The study measured the “Big Five” personality traits – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism – comparing assessments from 2014 through early 2022. While personality showed typical stability during the first months of the pandemic in 2020, significant shifts emerged by 2021 and 2022.
The changes weren’t subtle. Researchers observed declines in openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion. Neuroticism (the tendency toward anxiety, depression, and emotional instability) showed mixed patterns, initially decreasing in 2020 before climbing in subsequent years.
Young adults between 18 and 30 experienced the most dramatic shifts. This age group showed pronounced increases in neuroticism alongside steep drops in agreeableness and conscientiousness. The magnitude of change in just two years was equivalent to what researchers would typically expect over an entire decade of normal aging, but in the opposite direction.
Why young adults were hit hardest
The disproportionate impact on younger people makes sense when you consider what the pandemic disrupted. Early adulthood is a critical period for personality development, shaped heavily by social experiences, career beginnings, and relationship formation. Lockdowns, remote learning, and social isolation removed many of the experiences that typically help young people mature.
“Young adulthood is a time of exploration and identity formation,” the researchers noted. The pandemic essentially pressed pause on that developmental process while simultaneously adding unprecedented stressors.
Older adults, by contrast, showed remarkable resilience. Those over 65 demonstrated minimal personality changes, possibly because their traits were more firmly established and their daily routines less dramatically altered compared to younger cohorts.
The neuroticism paradox
One of the study’s more intriguing findings involves neuroticism’s trajectory. In 2020, neuroticism actually decreased slightly across the population, a counterintuitive result during a global health crisis. Researchers speculate this initial dip may reflect a “rallying together” effect, where shared adversity temporarily reduced individual anxiety.
By 2021 and 2022, however, neuroticism had climbed significantly, particularly among young adults. The prolonged nature of the pandemic, combined with economic uncertainty, social fragmentation, and ongoing health concerns, appears to have taken a cumulative toll on emotional stability.
Are these changes permanent?
This remains the critical unanswered question. Personality traits, while more malleable than once believed, typically show strong continuity across the lifespan. The pandemic-induced shifts documented in this study represent unusual deviation from that pattern.
Some researchers suggest these changes may partially reverse as life normalizes. Others worry that for young adults whose formative years were disrupted, the effects could persist. Follow-up studies over the coming years will be essential to determine whether these personality shifts represent temporary responses to extraordinary circumstances or lasting alterations to who we are.
What this means for you
Understanding that personality can shift under sustained stress isn’t just academically interesting, it has practical implications. If you’ve noticed changes in yourself or loved ones since 2020, this research validates that experience. You’re not imagining it.
For those feeling less agreeable, less conscientious, or more anxious than before the pandemic, recognizing these patterns as common responses to collective trauma may reduce self-judgment. It also suggests that intentionally engaging in activities that support personality development, building social connections, pursuing meaningful goals, managing stress, could help counteract unwanted shifts.
Parents and educators working with young adults may want to pay particular attention to supporting this age group’s social and emotional development, given their heightened vulnerability to pandemic-related personality changes.
The bottom line
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have accelerated personality changes across the population, with young adults experiencing the most significant shifts toward higher neuroticism and lower agreeableness and conscientiousness. While questions remain about permanence, this research underscores that major collective stressors can reshape who we are at a fundamental level, and that supporting mental health and social connection during recovery periods isn’t just about feeling better, but potentially about protecting our core selves.
Have you noticed lasting changes in your own personality or outlook since 2020? We’d love to hear your experience in the comments.
