title: Conscientiousness and longevity: an examination of possible mediators.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Conscientious individuals tend to experience a number of health benefits, not the least of which being greater longevity. However, it remains an open question as to why this link with longevity occurs. The current study tested two possible mediators (physical health and cognitive functioning) of the link between conscientiousness and longevity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We tested these mediators using a 10-year longitudinal sample (N = 512), a subset of the long-running Health and Retirement Study of aging adults. Measures included an adjective-rating measure of conscientiousness, self-reported health conditions, and three measures of cognitive functioning (word recall, delayed recall, and vocabulary) included in the 1996 wave of the HRS study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results found that conscientiousness significantly predicted greater longevity, even in a model including the two proposed mediator variables, gender, age, and years of education. Moreover, cognitive functioning appears to partially mediate this relationship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study replicates previous research showing that conscientious individuals tend to lead longer lives, and provides further insight into why this effect occurs. In addition, it underscores the importance of measurement considerations.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. phill1@illinois.edu
authors: Patrick L
authors: PL
authors: Hill
authors: Nicholas A
authors: NA
authors: Turiano
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Hurd
authors: Daniel K
authors: DK
authors: Mroczek
authors: Brent W
authors: BW
authors: Roberts
references: Psychol Bull. 1997 Mar;121(2):219-45
references: 9100487
references: Psychosom Med. 2007 Apr;69(3):277-82
references: 17401059
references: J Health Soc Behav. 1997 Mar;38(1):21-37
references: 9097506
references: Psychol Bull. 2004 Nov;130(6):887-919
references: 15535742
references: Psychosom Med. 2005 Sep-Oct;67(5):724-33
references: 16204430
references: Assessment. 1998 Sep;5(3):287-301
references: 9728035
references: Stat Med. 1989 Dec;8(12):1515-21
references: 2616941
references: J Health Psychol. 2009 May;14(4):513-24
references: 19383652
references: Annu Rev Psychol. 2010;61:679-704
references: 19572784
references: Health Psychol. 2007 Jul;26(4):473-80
references: 17605567
references: Psychosom Med. 2009 Jul;71(6):631-41
references: 19483118
references: J Pers. 2010 Feb;78(1):179-216
references: 20433617
references: J Health Psychol. 2006 Sep;11(5):643-54
references: 16908463
references: Neuropsychology. 2010 May;24(3):300-15
references: 20438208
references: Econometrica. 2010 May 1;78(3):883-931
references: 20563300
references: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2007 Nov;62(6):P353-61
references: 18079420
references: Psychol Aging. 2001 Mar;16(1):3-11
references: 11302365
references: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2011 Feb;26(2):182-7
references: 20652904
references: Health Psychol. 2008 Sep;27(5):505-12
references: 18823176
references: Psychol Health. 2010 Mar;25(3):305-19
references: 20204934
references: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007 Oct;64(10):1204-12
references: 17909133
references: Brain Behav Immun. 2008 Jul;22(5):668-75
references: 17949943
references: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1993 Jul;65(1):176-85
references: 8355139
references: Perspect Psychol Sci. 2007 Dec;2(4):313-45
references: 26151971
references: J Pers. 2004 Dec;72(6):1365-93
references: 15509286
references: Health Psychol. 2007 Jan;26(1):121-5
references: 17209705
references: Ann Epidemiol. 2007 Apr;17(4):278-88
references: 17174570