The role of social support and personality traits in predicting the mental health of members of the Iranian Red Crescent Society

Authors
1 PhD Student in Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences,Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran
2 Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology,and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University
3 M.A. Student in Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, West Tehran Islamic,Azad University, Tehran, Iran
4 M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch,Tehran, Iran
5 M.A. in General Psychology, Department of Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
6 M.A. in General Psychology, Department of Psychology, Kooshiar High Tech Institute, Rasht, Iran
7 M.A. in General Psychology, Department of General Psychology, Islamic Azad University of Rudehen, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The aim of this study was to predict mental health based on social support and personality traits. The method of this research is descriptive-correlational. The statistical population was all members of Red Crescent Society of seven provinces of Iran (East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, Gilan, Kerman and Hormozgan) that 218 of them were selected the census method as the research sample. Measurement tools include, Social Support Questionnaire, Symptom Check List-25 and Neo Five Factor Inventory. Then data was analyzed by Pearson correlation and Stepwise regression. The results showed that there was a significant negative relationship between social support and mental health. There was also a significant positive relationship between neurotic personality dimension and mental health (high scores in the mental health questionnaire indicate low mental health). The results of stepwise regression analysis also showed that social support and neurotic personality dimension were able to explain and predict 20% of the variance of the mental health. Based on the research results, it can be said that social support and personality traits can play a significant role in promoting mental health in individuals and the need to pay attention to these important variables in mental health promotion programs should be considered.
Keywords

Evans TM, Bira L, Gastelum JB, Weiss LT, Vanderford NL. Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nat Biotechnol. 2018; 36(3): 282-284.
Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, et al. Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020; 3(3):e203976. Published 2020 Mar 2. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
Word Health Organization. Retrieved from Internet: http://www.who.int/gho/ publications/ world_health_statistics/ 2016/en. Accessed January 2, 2017.
Dadvand P, Bartoll X, Basagaña X, et al. Green spaces and General Health: Roles of mental health status, social support, and physical activity. Environ Int. 2016; 91: 161-167.
French KA, Dumani S, Allen TD, Shockley KM. A meta-analysis of work-family conflict and social support. Psychol Bull. 2018; 144(3): 284-314.
Mohebi S, Parham M, Sharifirad G, Gharlipour Z, Mohammadbeigi A, Rajati F. Relationship between perceived social support and self-care behavior in type 2 diabetics: A cross-sectional study. J Educ Health Promot. 2018; 7: 48.
Munikanan T, Midin M, Daud TIM, et al. Association of social support and quality of life among people with schizophrenia receiving community psychiatric service: A cross-sectional study. Compr Psychiatry. 2017; 75: 94-102.
Hakulinen C, Pulkki-Råback L, Jokela M, et al. Structural and functional aspects of social support as predictors of mental and physical health trajectories: Whitehall II cohort study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2016; 70(7): 710-715.
Melchior M, Berkman LF, Niedhammer I, et al. Social relations and self-reported health: a prospective analysis of the French Gazel cohort. Soc Sci Med. 2003; 56: 1817–30.
White AM, Philogene GS, Fine L, et al. Social support and self-reported health status of older adults in the United States. Am J Public Health. 2009; 99: 1872–8
Shavitt S, Cho YI, Johnson TP, Jiang D, Holbrook A, Stavrakantonaki M. Culture Moderates the Relation Between Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Mental and Physical Health. J Cross-Cultural Psychol. 2016; 47(7): 956-980.
Cheng Y, Li X, Lou C, et al. The association between social support and mental health among vulnerable adolescents in five cities: findings from the study of the well-being of adolescents in vulnerable environments. J Adolesc Health. 2014; 55(6 Suppl): S31-S38.
Qi M, Zhou SJ, Guo ZC, et al. The Effect of Social Support on Mental Health in Chinese Adolescents during the Outbreak of COVID-19. J Adolesc Health, 2020; 67(4): 2020, 514-518.
Bucher MA, Suzuki T, Samuel DB. A meta-analytic review of personality traits and their associations with mental health treatment outcomes. Clin Psychol Rev. 2019; 70: 51-63.
Schultz D, Schultz S. Theories of personality. Wadsworth. 2013.
Reuben A, Schaefer JD, Moffitt TE, et al. Association of Childhood Lead Exposure with Adult Personality Traits and Lifelong Mental Health. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019; 76(4): 418-425.
Sutin AR, Stephan Y, Damian RI, Luchetti M, Strickhouser JE, Terracciano A. Five-factor model personality traits and verbal fluency in 10 cohorts. Psychol Aging. 2019; 34(3): 362-373.
Weiss A. Personality Traits: A View from the Animal Kingdom. J Pers. 2018; 86(1): 12-22.
Dash GF, Slutske WS, Martin NG, Statham DJ, Agrawal A, Lynskey MT. Big Five personality traits and alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and gambling disorder comorbidity. Psychol Addict Behav. 2019; 33(4): 420-429.
Lodi-Smith J, Rodgers JD, Cunningham SA, Lopata C, Thomeer ML. Meta-analysis of Big Five personality traits in autism spectrum disorder. Autism. 2019; 23(3): 556-565.
Massah O, Azkhosh M, Azami Y, Goodiny AA, Doostian Y, Mousavi SH. Students Tendency toward Illicit Drug Use: The Role of Perceived Social Support and Family Function in Iran. Iranian J Psychol Behave Sci. 2017; 11(2): 1-6.
A’azami Y, MehradSadr M, MamSharifi P. Meaning of Life in Retirees: The Relationship of Personality Traits and Religious Attitude. Int J Appl Behav Sci [Internet]. 2017; 4(4):22-32.
Hills, P. M. Argyle. “Happiness, introversion–extraversion and happy introverts.” Pers Indiv Differ. 2001; 30 (4): 595-608.