By Johnathan Jones, The Western Journal Dec. 4, 2023
A recent study conducted by a university in the United Kingdom found that individuals who fully complied with COVID-19 measures are more likely to suffer from lingering mental health issues than those who resisted government mandates and viewed such orders with skepticism.
The findings might be the least surprising bit of post-pandemic data out there.
But they are nonetheless hard data for individuals who desired to make their own health choices during the madness of the pandemic era and were vilified for doing so.
Meanwhile, that person you might still see today wearing a mask in public — four years after the outbreak began — could need help, according to a study sanctioned by Bangor University in Wales.
The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, was published Nov. 21.
Researchers with the school identified people who fell into two personality groups and tracked them for three months this year.
The purpose of the study was to gauge participants’ well-being following lockdowns in the country and to find a way to ensure that when the next pandemic comes along, as many people as possible do what is best for the greater good.
“During the period from February 15th to May 10th, 2023, after the lockdowns had ended, participants completed short surveys about their well-being every 2 weeks over a period of 3 months,” reads a four-page report from four researchers on behalf of the university.
The subjects were divided into two personality types — agentic and communal.
The agent is your typical person who is more likely to be focused on success, self-determination and independence.
Picture the paddle surfer who was arrested in Malibu, California, in early 2020 — per the Los Angeles Times — for enjoying the sunshine alone on a beach as your typical COVID-era agent.
There is much more nuance regarding the two personality types, but you get the gist.
“Human personality can be considered through the lens of two broad dimensions known as agency and communion,” the authors of the study wrote.
“Agency reflects competence, independence, achievement and is characterized by a strong drive for control, power and influence,” they said, “whereas communion relates to factors such as agreeableness, social dependence, and caring and is characterized by nurturing and cooperative behavior’s.
“The impact of population health messages may be influenced by these personality traits.”
Years removed from so many of the public health warnings and science-defying mandates, those who followed them to the letter are more likely to be struggling, according to the study.
The following question was posed by the study’s authors: “What’s the cost of compliance on people’s well-being?”
The answer: “The more individuals complied with health advice during lockdown, the worse their well-being post-lockdown.”
“Increasing awareness of the risk of infection can effectively encourage compliance, but it also has negative consequences on people’s well-being and recovery, especially for those higher in communal traits,” the researchers said.