Abstract
<strong>Objectives: </strong>Personality traits are important indicators of health and well-being. Neuroticism and conscientiousness in particular, are closely associated with morbidity and mortality in old age. However, little is known regarding the levels of these two key personality traits among U.S. Chinese older adults. This report aimed to examine the levels of personality traits among this population. <strong>Methods:</strong> Data were from the PINE study, a population-based study of U.S. Chinese older adults aged 60 and above. We measured neuroticism and conscientiousness using modified NEO personality inventory. <strong>Results:</strong> Of the 3,159 community-dwelling Chinese older adults, 58.9% were female, and mean age was 72.8 years. Compared to neuroticism, conscientiousness trait was endorsed higher among Chinese older adults in our sample. Each conscientiousness item had at least 67.8% of participant endorsement, in comparison to the lowest endorsement rate of 14.3% in the neuroticism measure. Younger age (r-neuroticism = -0.06, r-conscientiousness = -0.14) and fewer children (r-neuroticism = -0.06, r-conscientiousness = -0.06) were correlated with both traits. Female gender (<em>r</em> = 0.11), poorer health status (<em>r</em> = -0.26), poorer quality of life (<em>r</em> = -0.23) and worsened health over the past year (<em>r</em> = -0.15) were correlated with higher levels of neuroticism. In contrast, male gender (<em>r</em> = -0.05), better health status (<em>r</em> = 0.20), higher quality of life (<em>r</em> = 0.17) and improved health over the past year (<em>r</em> = 0.07) were correlated with higher levels of conscientiousness. Education level (<em>r</em> = 0.15) was positively correlated with higher levels of conscientiousness, but not with neuroticism; whereas income level (<em>r</em> = -0.04) was negatively correlated with neuroticism but not with conscientiousness. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> U.S. Chinese older adults generally possess higher agreement level on conscientiousness traits than neuroticism. Future analysis should be conducted to explore the complex associations between different personality traits among Chinese aging population, Our study also calls for further in-depth studies to understand adverse health outcomes associated with specific personality traits among minority older adults.
Highlights
Personality traits are broadly defined as a distinct set of interrelated thoughts, feelings, and behaviors [1]
The purpose of the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) study was to collect community-level data of U.S Chinese older adults to examine the key cultural determinants of health and well-being [22]
Based on the available census data drawn from U.S Census 2010 and a random block census project conducted in the Chinese community in Chicago, the PINE study is representative of the Chinese aging population in the greater Chicago area with respect to key demographic attributes, including age, sex, income, education, number of children, and country of origin [23]
Summary
Personality traits are broadly defined as a distinct set of interrelated thoughts, feelings, and behaviors [1]. The association of five personality traits with health and well-being has been extensively investigated in population-based studies [3,4]. Neuroticism and conscientiousness among older adults are reported to have close associations with mortality and morbidity. Evidence suggests that presence of neuroticism is associated with more rapid cognitive function decline [6], and increases the likelihood of reporting suicide ideation in older population, as well as enhancing risk for suicidal behavior and death by suicide [7,8,9]. Conscientiousness has been related to behaviors associated with cardiovascular health, such as smoking and exercise [10]. Epidemiologic research shows that conscientiousness is associated with a wide range of mental and physical disorders [11], disability [12], Alzheimer’s disease [13], and mortality [14,15]
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