Five-factor model personality traits and the retirement transition: Longitudinal and cross-sectional associations.

Abstract

We examined associations between five-factor personality traits and retirement in a diverse community sample. Longitudinal analyses (n=367) compared personality trajectories of participants who remained employed and participants who retired. Personality at baseline did not predict future retirement, but compared to participants who remained employed, retirees increased in Agreeableness and decreased in Activity, a facet of Extraversion. In cross-sectional analyses among retirees (n=144), those low in Neuroticism and high in Extraversion reported higher retirement satisfaction and those high in Extraversion reported higher post-retirement activity levels. Findings suggest that the trait perspective contributes to our understanding of the retirement process. KeywordsRetirement; personality traits; five-factor model; longitudinal; aging Retirement is a major normative life transition (Atchley, 1976;Theriault, 1994) which profoundly affects patterns of everyday activities and social network composition (e.g., Bossé, Aldwin, Levenson, Workman-Daniels, & Ekerdt, 1990;Mor-Barak, Scharlach, Birba, & Sokolov, 1992;Kim & Moen, 2002). Research on interindividual differences in retirement outcomes (e.g., Pinquart & Schindler, 2007;van Solinge & Henkens, 2007; has focused on sociodemographic factors (e.g., Wu, Tang, & Yan, 2005), physical health (e.g., Herzog, House, & Morgan, 1991;Wu et al., 2005), and subjective well-being (e.g., Pinquart & Schindler, 2007). In contrast, very few studies have examined the link between personality traits and retirement. The present study adds to the literature by examining personality as a predictor of retirement, patterns of longitudinal personality change associated with retirement, and personality correlates of retirement outcomes.We adopt the widely replicated five-factor model (FFM;Goldberg, 1993; Paunonen, Zeider, Engvik, Oosterveld, & Maliphant, 2002;McCrae & Costa, 2003), which describes personality along the dimensions of Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Openness to Experience (O), Agreeableness (A), and Conscientiousness (C). Theoretically, FFM traits are thought to Publisher's Disclaimer:The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/journals/pag. influence biographical events, such as retirement, via their association with emotional appraisals, motivational priorities, and coping strategies . Conversely, major biographical events are thought to elicit shifts in personality traits because they change people's investment in self-defining social roles (Roberts, Wood, & Smith , 2005). NIH Public AccessThe sy...

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