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 need-oriented support in extraordinary events such as pandemics.
Keywords: COVID-19; Fear; Nursing; Personality traits; Psychological resilience; University student.
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