Personality in Advanced Old Age: Continuity or Change?

Abstract

A longitudinal study of elderly persons found evidence of personality development even in advanced old age. Five traits, similar to traits found in younger persons, were identified. Although considerable continuity was found, change also was apparent. An increase in agreeableness was observed for the old-old, bringing their scores up to the level maintained by the oldest-old. Two traits were stable: satisfaction (65% did not change reliably) and intellect (63% did not change reliably). A decline in extraversion occurred in both age groups. Energetic, in which 40% declined, may be more affected than the other traits by external, environmental circumstances. The study confirms the findings of longitudinal studies of children and younger adults and extends them into the final stages of life.

Stability and Change of Personality Across the Life Course: The Impact of Age and Major Life Events on Mean-Level and Rank-Order Stability of the Big Five

“…By contrast, Scollon and Diener (2006) found similar-sized changes before and after age 30 in both Extraversion and Neuroticism. Roberts and colleagues even found that stability increases until age 50 (Roberts & DelVecchio, 2000), and that considerable changes even PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE 5 occur afterwards (Field & Millsap, 1991;Roberts & DelVecchio, 2000;Roberts et al, 2006). In their cross-sectional approach, Srivastava et al (2003) found differences in all personality traits after age 30 as well.…”

Impacto na qualidade de vida e no estado depressivo de idosas participantes de uma universidade da terceira idade

“…Porém, alguns autores defendem a idéia de que diferenças entre coortes refletem na personalidade de idosos, sendo que pessoas de coortes mais recentes parecem apresentar maior flexibilidade do que as de coortes anteriores (Hilgard, Atkinson & Atkinson, 1979;Ruth & Coleman, 1996;Schaie & Willis, 1991). Teorias atuais de personalidade indicam que, apesar da aparente estabilidade da personalidade na idade adulta, existe considerável potencial para mudança (Field & Millsap, 1991;Helson, Jones & Kwan, 2002;Labouvie-Vief, Diehl, Tarnowski & Shen, 2000;McAdams, 1995;Maiden, Peterson, Caya & Hayslip, 2003).…”

Some implications of attachment theory for understanding psychological functioning in old age: an illustration from the long‐term psychological effects of World War Two

“…Research has established that a number of factors influence psychological functioning in old age. These include genetic factors (Plomin, Lichtenstein, Pederson, McClearn, and Nesselroade, 1992), personality factors (Field and Millsap, 1991), and a range of social factors (Depner and Ingersoll-Dayton, 1988;Krause, Laing, and Keith, 1990).…”