Trauma, personality, and depression among middle-aged and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Survivors of early trauma are more likely to experience depression in middle and older adulthood as well as lasting influences on personality, grief, and interpersonal problems. This mixed-methods study investigates factors associated with early trauma and depression among middle-aged and older adults who experienced loss during the pandemic.

Two hundred fourteen mostly White, educated, and female older and middle-aged adults (age M = 62.7, SD = 5.86) from the United States and Canada completed an online survey. A subsample of 12 participants comprised the qualitative interview data. Quantitative analyses utilized t test, correlation, and regression techniques, while qualitative analyses followed an iterative process.

High levels of early trauma were significantly associated with higher levels of neuroticism (d = -.32), depression (d = -.28), and interpersonal problems (d = -.55). After adjusting for covariates, higher neuroticism and lower extraversion were significantly associated with depression (ß = .588, p < .001; ß = -.177, p = .006). Early trauma and interpersonal problems were not significantly associated with depression after accounting for variance due to personality traits. Qualitative analyses yielded themes of re-encountering problems faced in childhood and adaptation or continuity of interpersonal strategies from childhood.

Personality traits associated with trauma were significantly associated with depressive symptoms among bereaved middle-aged and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early trauma may influence depression in later life with regard to difficulty with adaptation to novel contexts and challenges. Future studies with a more sociodemographically diverse sample are needed to replicate and extend our findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).