Notably, effect sizes substantially differed across the three panels and sensitivity analyses indicated that the size of the effects depended on the time interval examined.

Conversely, when people felt lonelier than usual, they tended to report being less extraverted, conscientious, emotionally stabile and agreeable 4 years later.

We found that when people were more extraverted, conscientious, and emotionally stable than usual, they tended to report fewer feelings of loneliness 4 years later.

Finally, class membership also depended on how the negative life event was perceived. For instance, those who perceived the event as more threatening to social status were less likely to belong to the High-Increasing Class.

Furthermore, class membership was largely determined by the Big Five traits, especially neuroticism. Those high in neuroticism were more likely to belong to the Very Low-Stable Class.

We identified four classes with distinct self-esteem trajectories. Most people recover 📈, but some don’t 📉.