(PS1-56) Openness to Experience as a Predictor of Psychopathology, Irrational Beliefs, Maladaptive Personality Traits, and Well-being

Abstract Text: Openness is characterized by a tendency to seek out new experiences and explore ideas, values, and emotions that differ from previously established preferences. Openness is associated with increased creativity, curiosity, adaptability, mental flexibility, and acceptance of others, which can serve as protective factors against psychopathology. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between openness and psychopathology, well-being, and maladaptive personality traits. 1,035 undergraduate participants (76.04% male, Mage=19.63, 39.6% non-Hispanic White) remotely completed self-report measures of treatment history, personality traits, maladaptive personality traits, anxiety, depression, social anxiety, anger, irrational beliefs, and satisfaction with life. Openness was negatively correlated with generalized anxiety (r = -0.089, p = .004), social anxiety (r = -0.204, p < .001), anger (r = -0.125, p < .001), depression (r = -0.124, p < .001), maladaptive personality traits (r = -0.124, p < .001), and irrational beliefs (r = -0.208, p < .001), suggesting that individuals who are higher in openness tend to have slightly fewer generalized anxiety, social anxiety, anger, and depression symptoms and fewer irrational beliefs and maladaptive personality traits. Openness was positively correlated with satisfaction with life, suggesting that individuals who are higher in openness tend to have slightly greater life satisfaction (r = 0.190, p < .001). Multiple regression was conducted to examine the ability of openness to predict our symptom measures and life satisfaction measures while controlling for gender. The dependent variables were not significantly correlated with age, but all dependent variables except for satisfaction with life were significantly correlated with gender, so the multiple regression analyses controlled for gender on all variables except for life satisfaction. Openness was a significant predictor of generalized anxiety (β = -0.120, p < .001), maladaptive personality traits (β = -0.152, p < .001), social anxiety (β = -0.228, p < .001), anger (β = -0.138, p < .001), depression (β = -0.152, p < .001), irrational beliefs (β = -0.209, p < .001), and satisfaction with life (β = 0.190, p < .001). These findings suggest that individuals with greater openness tend to experience fewer psychological symptoms and irrational beliefs, and tend to experience greater life satisfaction, highlighting a potential protective role of openness in emotional well-being. This suggests that openness may be an important trait for clinicians to assess among their patients to elucidate likelihood of various symptomatology and irrational beliefs. Openness may also be an important personality trait for clinicians to help patients increase through behavior modifications and targeted interventions.