title: Personality measures in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Provide recommendations for researchers on the use of the Big Five personality battery in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), and ensure that the battery does proxy the Big Five. Also, describe the levels of Big Five traits across gender and age.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used an Exploratory Structural Equation Model (ESEM) to analyze NHSAP's personality battery, comparing NSHAP with the National Longitudinal Study of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  ESEM revealed a 5-factor structure in the NSHAP battery, but with considerable cross-loadings. When these cross-loadings were not included in the model, model fit notably worsened. Reliabilities of Big Five scales were comparable to the HRS and MIDUS, even though NSHAP's battery is shorter. Women were considerably more Agreeable than men, although this gender gap closed among the oldest in the sample (80 years or older).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Researchers will be able to make use of NSHAP's personality battery to examine a range of social, biological, and psychological factors at older ages, in light of individuals' general traits. We recommend models which allow for cross-loadings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, iveniukj@gmail.com.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iveniuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology.
authors.forename: Edward O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Laumann
authors.affiliation: Lucy Flower Professor in Urban Sociology, and.
authors.forename: Linda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Waite
authors.affiliation: Institute for Mind and Biology, and Department of Human Development, University of Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Martha K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: McClintock
authors.affiliation: Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tiedt
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Big Five; Factor analysis; NSHAP; Personality traits.