Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Longevity or length of life can be influenced by many different variables, including lifestyle, social environment, and behavior. Interestingly, personality at different ages significantly predicts longevity. Research suggests that Conscientiousness during childhood and adulthood predict longevity, while Neuroticism may or may not significantly increase longevity. Prior research on personality as a predictor of longevity is rich and robust, yet lacks replications using less restricted samples. The purpose of the current study is to examine if personality characteristics at ages 10, 13, and 50 significantly predict longevity. Study members were participants from the Intergenerational Studies (N=152), an extensive longitudinal assessment on the entire lives of hundreds of participants. Personality was measured using subsets of the California Q-Sort to measure the Big Five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). Longevity was measured using death dates, collected through Google searches and Ancestry.com. Multiple linear regressions were run to determine if Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism at ages 10, 13, and 50 predict longevity. Results concluded that Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism at ages 10, 13, and 50 were not significant predictors of longevity.
Author: Gagnebin, Judith A.
Institution: California State University, Fresno
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6986576777