title: Five-factor personality traits and age trajectories of self-rated health: the role of question framing.
abstract: We examined the influence of personality traits on mean levels and age trends in 4 single-item measures of self-rated health: general rating, comparison to age peers, comparison to past health, and expectations for future health. Community-dwelling participants (N = 1,683) completed 7,474 self-rated health assessments over a period of up to 19 years. In hierarchical linear modeling analyses, age-associated declines differed across the 4 health items. Across age groups, high Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness, low Extraversion, and low Openness were associated with worse health ratings, with notable differences across the 4 health items. Furthermore, high Neuroticism predicted steeper declines in health ratings involving temporal comparisons. We consider theoretical implications regarding the mechanisms behind associations among personality traits and self-rated health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. CEL72@cornell.edu
authors.forename: Corinna E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Löckenhoff
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Terracciano
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003243:Consciousness; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007439:Introversion, Psychological; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires