title: Openness to experience is related to better memory ability in older adults with questionable dementia.
abstract: The personality traits Openness to experience and Neuroticism of the five-factor model have previously been associated with memory performance in nondemented older adults, but this relationship has not been investigated in samples with memory impairment. Our examination of 50 community-dwelling older adults (29 cognitively intact; 21 with questionable dementia as determined by the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale) showed that demographic variables (age, years of education, gender, and estimated premorbid IQ) and current depressive symptoms explained a significant amount of variance of Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Status Delayed Memory (adjusted R (2) = 0.23). After controlling for these variables, a measure of global cognitive status further explained a significant portion of variance in memory performance (ΔR(2) = 0.13; adjusted R(2) = 0.36; p < .01). Finally, adding Openness to this hierarchical linear regression model explained a significant additional portion of variance (ΔR(2) = 0.08; adjusted R(2) = 0.44; p < .01) but adding Neuroticism did not explain any additional variance. This significant relationship between Openness and better memory performance above and beyond one's cognitive status and demographic variables may suggest that a lifelong pattern of involvement in new cognitive activities could be preserved in old age or protect from memory decline. This study suggests that personality may be a powerful predictor of memory ability and clinically useful in this heterogeneous population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. dpterry@uga.edu
authors.forename: Douglas P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Terry
authors.forename: Antonio N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Puente
authors.forename: Courtney L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Carlos C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Faraco
authors.forename: L Stephen
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D010556:Personality Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014888:Wechsler Scales