Relationships Between Personality Traits and Perceived Stress in Surrogate Decision-Makers of Intensive Care Unit Patients.

Only 32 of the 43 surrogates who completed the first questionnaire were included in the main analysis because 11 were lost to follow-up, so the study was underpowered. The sample was largely white and female, and it came from one centre, so results may not apply to many ICU families. The study did not test an intervention, so it cannot show that personality screening or tailored support reduces stress. The authors noted that power calculations did not include multiplicity corrections and the COVID-19 analysis was post-hoc. Important possible contributors to stress, such as death, final disposition, social support, family dynamics, and illness type, were not measured. The pandemic context included visitation restrictions, which may have changed the stress experience.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and disclosed receipt of financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication.

Do not conclude that neuroticism reliably increases ICU surrogate stress. The main questionnaire results did not show a clear overall association, the sample was small, and the hyperarousal finding was one of many comparisons.