Stoicism: Bright and Dark Side Correlates

Abstract

This study examined stoicism as a coping style. Just over 500 people completed a new, short, multi-dimensional stoicism scale; a short measure of the Big Five (Bright-side personality); the PID-6BF which measures personality disorders along five dimensions (Dark-side personality), and various self-ratings. Analysis of the stoicism scale at both the domain and five facet levels showed that it was related to gender (males scored higher), education (graduates scored higher), trait Extraversion and Openness, as well as Detachment and Psychoticism. Regressions indicated that stoics were Closed-to-Experience, Introverted, and high on Detachment. There were many differences between the regression results onto the different factors. The adaptiveness of stoicism is discussed. Limitations are acknowledged.