title: Personality as a predictor of dietary quality in spouses during midlife.
abstract: The authors evaluated the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) as a predictor of dietary quality in 850 married couples, focusing on associations among each participant's personality as a predictor of their own dietary quality and their spouses' dietary quality. Diet was based on a modified version of the US Department of Agriculture Healthy Eating Index. Openness was associated with self-ratings of dietary quality for wives (r = .28) and husbands (r = .27). Wives' levels of the characteristic openness were also related to their spouses' ratings of dietary quality (r = .22). The primary facets of openness accounting for the domain-level findings were O2-aesthetics and O4-actions. The remaining personality domains (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) were not associated with self or spousal ratings of dietary quality (rs = .08-.09). Openness was associated with healthy eating habits--findings that may affect disease prevention during, midlife.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. brummett@duke.edu
authors.forename: Beverly H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Brummett
authors.forename: Ilene C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Siegler
authors.forename: R Sue
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012016:Reference Values; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*