Higher Resident Neuroticism Is Specifically Associated With Elevated State Cancer and Heart Disease Mortality Rates in the United States

Stewart J H Mccann

doi:10.1177/2158244014538268

Abstract

Relations between state-aggregated responses of 619,397 residents to the neuroticism items of the Big Five Inventory and 2005-2007 age-adjusted state cancer, heart disease, total all-cause, other-disease, and non-disease mortality rates for the 50 states were examined. Partial correlations controlling for four state demographic variables and three risk variables showed neuroticism correlated significantly only with cancer mortality (.34) and heart disease mortality (.31). Hierarchical regression with demographic variables entered first, neuroticism second, and risk variables last showed neuroticism accounted for another significant 7.6% of cancer mortality variance and an additional significant 4.6% of heart disease mortality variance. Significant βs of .28 and .30, respectively, showed higher neuroticism was associated with higher cancer and heart disease mortality when all seven demographic and risk variables were controlled. Overall, the results show resident neuroticism is related to state cancer and heart disease mortality rates but not to total all-cause, other-disease, or non-disease mortality rates.

Highlights

Cancer and heart disease mortality rates vary greatly from nation to nation
What stands out most in the results of the present study is that states with populations higher on the neuroticism dimension of the Big Five personality factors have higher cancer and heart disease mortality rates, and that there is no significant association between neuroticism and state total mortality rates, other-disease mortality rates, or non-disease mortality rates when appropriate demographic and risk factor controls are in place
The results provide empirical evidence that the association with higher neuroticism is specific to cancer and heart disease mortality data, a conclusion that could not have been drawn from the Rentfrow et al (2008) study

Summary

Introduction

Cancer and heart disease mortality rates vary greatly from nation to nation. Based on the most recent data for 192 countries (WorldLifeExpectancy, 2013b), the three with the highest annual cancer mortality rates have a mean rate that is approximately 16 times that of the three with the lowest annual cancer mortality rates: Maldives, Mongolia, and Hungary have the highest; Syria, Samoa, and Kiribati have the lowest. From the emerging perspective of psychological geography (Rentfrow, 2010, 2014; Rentfrow, Gosling, & Potter, 2008), Rentfrow et al suggested a novel answer based on American state-level evidence: personality differences between the residents of different geographical units They found that state cancer and heart disease mortality rates are elevated in states where residents are higher on the neuroticism personality dimension of the Big Five (John & Srivastava, 1999). These mean scores were presented as five z scores for each state to facilitate interpretation and comparison As part of their validation process, Rentfrow et al (2008) examined correlations between their Big Five state z scores (n = 51) and various state variables including cancer and heart disease mortality rates from the 1990s. The only other Big Five relation occurred for conscientiousness, which correlated .31 with heart disease mortality with the other Big Five variables controlled but .00 with the five demographic variables controlled

Methods

Results

Conclusion