Personality and Human Immunity

Abstract

We review evidence on the role of personality traits in immune function including studies of enumerative and functional immune markers and of host resistance to infectious illness. We begin by discussing a series of pathways through which traits may influence immunity: immune-altering behaviors; concomitant activation of physiological systems; aggravation or attenuation of the activating effects of environmental demands or stressors; or selection into environments that alter immunity. We focus on the “Big Five” personality factors—extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness to experience but also address other trait characteristics that do not cleanly fit into the Big Five typology including dispositional optimism, trait positive affect, hostility, and social inhibition. We conclude that the literature on personality and immunity is in its infancy and not developed enough to make any definitive conclusions. We can say that there is evidence of possible associations with immunity across all the traits, with existing data suggesting some reliable associations. We suggest the importance of future works being based in trait-specific theory and outline a number of important methodological concerns.

Impact of chronic and acute academic stress on lymphocyte subsets and monocyte function

“…In addition, our data show that these psychological characteristics might be relevant not only in a stress context but also for predicting basal immune status [ 64 ]. Therefore, considering the impact of personality characteristics in the future can contribute to better understanding of personality driven immunity, and it can help to identify the responsible mechanisms.…”

Resilience and immunity

“…Yet even though acute stress was associated with increased cortisol (and hence would presumably decrease cytokine release), they found that people who suffered from chronic stress produced more, not less, pro-inflammatory cytokine ( Cohen et al, 1999 ). In response to this apparent contradiction, they hypothesized that when people are exposed to major stressful events over a prolonged period, their bodies adapt to the initial increase in cortisol by reducing immune cell responsiveness to cortisol (a process called glucocorticoid resistance) ( Cohen et al, 2012 ; Miller et al, 2002 ). As these cells become less responsive, the body loses the ability to turn-down the inflammatory response.…”

“…Studies of optimism as a potential buffer of the effects of stressors on immune function also show mixed outcomes, see reviews by Segerstrom (2005) and Cohen et al (2012) . A recent review by Cohen et al (2012) , attributes the inconsistencies to insufficient samples sizes (Ns ranging from 22 to 59) to provide the statistical power required to test the predicted stressor-by-optimism interactions that would provide support for the resilience hypothesis. In addition, these studies are based primarily on trait measures of optimism, when measures assessing optimism in relation to the specific situation would, in theory, be a more effective in buffering the potential effects of a stressor.…”

“…In support of the potential influence of immunity on psychological resilience in humans, there is considerable evidence from cross-sectional correlational studies for positive affect, optimism, control, and social support being associated with a broad range of immune measures, see review for instance in Marsland et al (2017) , Cohen et al (2012) and Uchino et al (1996) . Although consistent with immunity modulating psychological resilience factors, these data are limited in that the direction of causality is unclear, and it is just as possible (and as likely) that reported associations are attributable to psychological states influencing immunity as it is that immunity contributes to psychological states.…”

Personality and uveitis

“…The link between personality and immunity is an emerging line of study [ 4 , 5 ]. The relation has even been studied at the molecular and cellular level [ 6 ].…”