The relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological resilience according to personality traits of university students: A PATH analysis

Purpose: The purpose of the current research was to identify the influence of university students' personality traits on their fear of COVID-19 and psychological resilience levels. Design and methods: A cross-sectional trial was completed with 690 students. Descriptive statistics and correlations were calculated, and a path analysis was employed with the objective of assessing the model fit and investigating direct and indirect impacts. Findings: Among personality traits, conscientiousness and neuroticism were observed to affect fear of COVID-19, and conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience had an effect on psychological resilience. The tested model has a good fit and explains the direct effects of the study variables. Practice implications: Nurses should improve university students' psychological resilience by supporting them with protective and improving factors. The role of the psychiatric nurse is important in providing conscious and needoriented support in extraordinary events such as pandemics.