title: Personality and Other Lifelong Influences on Older-Age Health and Wellbeing: Preliminary Findings in Two Scottish Samples.
abstract: Recent observations that personality traits are related to later-life health and wellbeing have inspired considerable interest in exploring the mechanisms involved. Other factors, such as cognitive ability and education, also show longitudinal influences on health and wellbeing, but it is not yet clear how all these early-life factors together contribute to later-life health and wellbeing. In this preliminary study, we assessed hypothesised relations among these variables across the life course, using structural equation modelling in a sample assessed on dependability (a personality trait related to conscientiousness) in childhood, cognitive ability and social class in childhood and older age, education, and health and subjective wellbeing in older age. Our models indicated that both health and subjective wellbeing in older age were influenced by childhood IQ and social class, via education. Some older-age personality traits mediated the effects of early-life variables, on subjective wellbeing in particular, but childhood dependability did not show significant associations. Our results therefore did not provide evidence that childhood dependability promotes older-age health and wellbeing, but did highlight the importance of other early-life factors, particularly characteristics that contribute to educational attainment. Further, personality in later life may mediate the effects of early-life factors on health and subjective wellbeing. © 2016 The Authors.European Journal of Personalitypublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK.
authors.forename: Mathew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK; School of Natural Sciences and Psychology Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK.
authors.forename: Caroline E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Brett
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK; Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK.
authors.forename: Ian J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Deary
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Johnson
keywords: cognitive ability; education; health; longitudinal study; personality; subjective wellbeing