Personality and physical functioning among older adults: the moderating role of education.
OBJECTIVE
Drawing upon a vulnerability model, this study tested whether low educational level would amplify the negative contribution of risky personality traits, such as high neuroticism and low conscientiousness, on older adults physical functioning.


METHODS
Five hundred and thirteen French-speaking community-dwelling older adults aged 60-91 years (mean age = 66.37, SD = 5.32) completed measures of physical functioning, education, personality traits, chronic conditions, and demographic variables.


RESULTS
Results revealed that extraversion and conscientiousness were positively associated with physical functioning, whereas neuroticism was a negative predictor, beyond demographics, chronic conditions, and education. The negative relationship between neuroticism and physical functioning was stronger among individuals with low educational level and was nonsignificant among older people with higher level of education.


CONCLUSIONS
This study is the first to support a vulnerability model, which entails an amplification of neuroticism risk at low education, but a diminishment of neuroticism risk for activity limitations at high education. As a whole, it appears that a focus on either personality or education without taking into account each other provides only a partial account of the predictors of basic daily physical activities in old age.
Department of Sport Sciences, EA 3742 University of Grenoble, France.
Alban
A
Jaconelli
Yannick
Y
Stephan
Brice
B
Canada
Benjamin P
BP
Chapman
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D015987:Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires