Fear of blushing: Relations with personality among children and adults

• Among adults fear of blushing is best predicted by Structure.
• Among children fear of blushing is best predicted by Neuroticism.
• Children report more fear of blushing than adults.
• Females report more fear of blushing than males.

Despite the common nature of blushing and the feelings of discomfort that often accompany it, to date, no studies have yet examined the relationship between personality characteristics and the fear of blushing. The present study fills this gap in the literature, by examining, in a sample of adults and a sample of children (9–16 years), the relationship between personality and fear of blushing. For this purpose questionnaires were administered to representative community samples of adults (n = 157) and children (n = 150). Results showed that, among adults, fear of blushing was best predicted by Structure, whereas, among children, fear of blushing was best predicted by Neuroticism. When comparing the two samples, children reported more fear of blushing than adults, whereas, across samples, females reported more fear of blushing than males. Conclusions are discussed as well as future directions for research.