title: Five-factor personality traits and subjective health among caregivers: the role of caregiver strain and self-efficacy.
abstract: This study examined the association among caregivers' five-factor personality traits and subjective health with particular emphasis on the role of two theoretically implicated mediators: multi-domain self-efficacy and caregiver strain. The sample comprised 536 informal caregivers (mean age = 62.9 years, SD = 19.9, 72% female, 98% White) of community-dwelling older adults with multiple functional impairments. Both physical health and mental health were negatively associated with neuroticism and positively associated with extraversion and conscientiousness. Agreeableness and openness were associated with better subjective mental health and physical health, respectively. Multiple mediation analyses indicated that self-efficacy mediated all observed associations between personality and subjective health, whereas caregiver strain selectively mediated the associations of neuroticism and agreeableness with mental health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, Cornell University, G35 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: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Duberstein
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*