Neuroticism and extraversion are differentially related to between- and within-person variation of daily negative emotion and physical symptoms

Negative emotion and physical symptoms reciprocally influence each other, and are associated with neuroticism and extraversion. It remains unclear, nevertheless, how they are associated with the daily dynamic links between negative emotion and physical symptoms at between- and with-person level. This study used a daily diary design of 14 consecutive days in a Chinese college sample (n = 139, 17-22 years old, 27% males) to investigate the associations of neuroticism and extraversion with the variation and cross-day links between negative emotion and physical symptoms with dynamic structural equation modeling. Results showed substantial between- and within-person variation in daily negative emotion and physical symptoms. Neuroticism was positively associated with daily average negative emotion and physical symptoms (between-person variation); extraversion attenuated the association of physical symptoms with the next days negative emotion (within-person variation). The findings demonstrate the value of examining within-person variation of negative emotion and physical symptoms at the daily level, and that neuroticism and extraversion have differential associations with negative emotion and physical symptoms at different levels, which have implications for interventions that target these individual characteristics to promote physical and mental well-being among college students.