Influence of temperament and character on resilience

Objective

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of temperament and character on resilience.

Methods

A total of 4355 participants completed two questionnaires: the Conner–Davison Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised Short (TCI-RS). We used Pearson's correlations to evaluate the correlation between the dimensions of the TCI and the CD-RISC. To determine the most influential TCI dimension with respect to the CD-RISC, a backward multiple regression analysis was performed.

Results

The resilience of both men and women was positively correlated with persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness. Conversely, harm avoidance was negatively correlated with resilience. In addition, reward dependence in men and self-transcendence in women were positively correlated with resilience. In the multiple regression analysis, persistence, self-directedness, and harm avoidance significantly predicted resilience after adjusting for age and gender.

Conclusion

This results show that social support is affected by personality, which consists of both temperament and character. High persistence and self-directedness as well as low harm avoidance are found to contribute to a better stress response.