An investigation of the causal pattern of the relationship between personality variables and Corona-related health attitudes: The mediating role of internal locus of control and self-esteem moderator

The present study aimed to investigate the causal pattern of the relationship between personality variables and coronavirus-related health attitudes mediated by the internal locus of control, and the moderating role of self-esteem in students. The sample participants consisted of 150 students of varying educational levels who completed the Health Behavior, Health Attitude, Internal Locus of Control, risk-taking, self-esteem, and conscientiousness and neuroticism questionnaires, online and through messaging applications (Telegram and WhatsApp). To analyze data, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to measure fitness of the model and examine direct relationships. Measurement of the mediator relationship was assessed via, Bootstrap, and the moderator relations were examined with hierarchical regression. The results showed that the model's fitness well with the data and all direct relationships, except the relationship between risk-taking, and health attitudes were confirmed. The findings also confirmed the mediating role of the internal locus of control in the relationship between personality traits and health attitudes. The results further indicated the moderating role of self-esteem in the relationship between the internal locus of control and students' health attitudes. In other words, the relationship between the internal locus of control and health attitudes in students with higher self-esteem is stronger than the relationship in which students reported lower self-esteem. The results also confirmed the moderating role of self-esteem in the relationship between neuroticism and students' health attitudes. In other words, the relationship between neuroticism and health attitudes in students with lower self-esteem is stronger than the relationship in which students reported higher self-esteem