The chapter examines health-related behaviours and personality predispositions as factors associated with long COVID among adults in Slovenia. It builds on the observation that long COVID is not evenly distributed across the population, but is instead associated with several groups of factors whose role has not always been unequivocal in the existing literature. The first part of the chapter reviews previous research on the associations of long COVID with physical activity, body mass index, smoking, health anxiety, and resilience. The empirical part is based on a Slovenian study of adults who reported having been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Participants were classified into three groups: those without long COVID, those who had recovered from long COVID, and those currently experiencing long COVID. Bivariate analyses showed that health anxiety and resilience were associated with long COVID, whereas associations with health-related behaviours were less clear. In the joint multinomial regression model, controlling for demographic variables, only higher health anxiety emerged as a significant predictor when comparing individuals who had recovered from long COVID with those without long COVID. In the case of currently ongoing long COVID, higher health anxiety and being overweight were associated with a greater likelihood of this outcome, whereas higher resilience was associated with a lower likelihood of ongoing difficulties. The finding regarding physical activity was contrary to the initial hypothesis, as a greater likelihood of ongoing long COVID was found among more physically active participants. The chapter interprets this result cautiously, including the possibility of differences in the perception and reporting of functional limitations. In conclusion, the chapter emphasizes that long COVID cannot be understood as the consequence of a single factor, but rather as a condition shaped by an interplay of physical, behavioural, and psychological factors. Personality-related factors appear particularly important, as health anxiety and resilience point to the role of psychological processes in understanding the perceived burden and course of post-COVID difficulties.
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