This study examined the Big Five personality traits as predictors of mortality risk, and smoking as a mediator of that association. Replication was built into the fabric of our design: we used a Coordinated Analysis with 15 international datasets, representing 44,094 participants. We found that high neuroticism and low conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness were consistent predictors of mortality across studies. Smoking had a small mediating effect for neuroticism. Country and baseline age explained variation in effects: studies with older baseline age showed a pattern of protective effects (HR<1.00) for openness, and U.S. studies showed a pattern of protective effects for extraversion. This study demonstrated coordinated analysis as a powerful approach to enhance replicability and reproducibility, especially for aging-related longitudinal research.
As predicted, personality stability on some traits was associated with more adaptive cognitive performance on reasoning and reaction time. Personality is discussed as a possible resource for protecting against or minimizing age-related declines in cognition.
Personality traits and cognitive performance are related, but little work has examined how these associations vary by personality facet or age. 154 adults aged 22 to 84 completed the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) and the NEO Five Factor Personality Inventory. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed negative emotional aspects of personality (neuroticism, depression) were associated with lower reasoning, and social aspects of personality (assertiveness) were associated with faster reaction time, yet lower reasoning. The association between neuroticism and performance was found primarily among younger adults. In older adulthood, better performance was associated with positive emotional aspects of personality. We discuss how personality may have different associations with performance across age and the implications for possible interventions.
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