The General Factor of Personality: Predicting Psychological Distress and Individual-Level Protective Factors in a Male Cohort

Abstract

The general factor of personality (GFP) is theorized to occupy the apex of the hierarchical model of personality. With its existence supported by a large body of theoretical and empirical research, the substantive nature of this construct remains to be confirmed. Interpreted as a social effectiveness factor that reflects social knowledge and skills, substantial empirical studies have found the GFP to predict a wide range of occupational, social and behavioral outcomes at the interpersonal level. However, there remains limited empirical evidence regarding the predictive power of GFP in the psychological domain. For this reason, the primary aim of this study was to explore the predictive power of GFP on the following outcome criteria of psychological distress, perceived stress and individual-level protective factors (i.e., hardiness, locus of control, and self-esteem) in a male cohort (N = 300; aged 35-83). Additionally, the explanatory power of GFP was compared to the well-established Big-Five traits. This study also aimed to find the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between GFP and mental health and well-being. The primary finding was that the GFP seems to reflects an adaptive trait, which significantly and positively associated with individual-level protective factors that act to buffer against stress. Moreover, a mediating relationship was found between the GFP and mental health through psychological distress. Based on these results, GFP may possibly serve as a valuable construct for future personality research in relation to individual differences in stress management and adaptive coping strategies.