title: Can personality theory help us understand risk of falls?
abstract: Falling is one of the greatest challenges of aging, devastating for older individuals and expensive to the health system. While much research to date has focused on physical risk factors for falls, little is known about behavioral risk factors and the role of personality in the prevention of falls. This article examines the potential role personality theory can play in expanding our understanding of not only the risk of falling in individuals of advanced age but also older individuals' response to this risk. This article raises issues for consideration and formulates some examples of questions for future research.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, Health Sciences Building, Room 216, London, Ontario, Canada. mkloseck@uwo.ca
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kloseck
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Crilly
authors.forename: Maggie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gibson
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D010551:Personality; D012306:Risk; D012309:Risk-Taking