Openness to Experience and stress regulation

The current study examined the association between Openness to Experience and stress regulation (i.e., stress exposure, reactivity, recovery, and restoration). Seventy-three young adults underwent a laboratory stressor, and physiological and affective reactivity and recovery were examined. Openness was positively associated with reports of greater stress exposure during childhood, but was unrelated to the number of stressors in the past year. Higher Openness was associated with less blood pressure reactivity, increases in respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and a modest increase in positive affect during the laboratory stressor. Life stress was associated with poor sleep quality for low-, but not high-, Open individuals. These findings suggest greater stress resilience among high-Open persons and greater vulnerability to adverse effects of stress among low-Open individuals. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.