Health-related Personality Research Articles

"The Heidelberg Five" personality dimensions: Genome-wide associations, polygenic risk for neuroticism, and psychopathology 20 years after assessment.

HeiDE is a longitudinal population-based study that started in the 1990s and, at baseline, assessed an array of health-related personality questionnaires in 5133 individuals. Five latent personality dimensions (The Heidelberg Five) were identified and interpreted as Emotional Lability (ELAB), Lack of Behavioral Control (LBCN), Type A Behavior (TYAB), Locus of Control over Disease (LOCC), and Psychoticism (PSYC). At follow-up, 3268 HeiDE participants (post-QC) were genotyped on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. To further characterize The Heidelberg Five, we analyzed genomic underpinnings, their relations to the genetic basis of the Big Five trait Neuroticism, and longitudinal associations with psychiatric symptoms at follow-up. SNP-based heritability was significant for ELAB (34%) and LBCN (29%). A genome-wide association study for each personality dimension was conducted; only the phenotype PSYC yielded a genome-wide significant finding (p < 5 × 10-8 , top SNP rs138223660). Gene-based analyses identified significant findings for ELAB, TYAB, and PSYC. Polygenic risk scores for Neuroticism were only associated with ELAB. Each of The Heidelberg Five was related to depressive symptoms at follow-up. ELAB, LBCN, and PSYC were also associated with lifetime anxiety symptoms. These results highlight the clinical importance of health-related personality traits and identify LBCN as a heritable "executive function" personality trait.

Personal Self-Support, Self-Schema, and Other-Schema

Interest in the relationship between personality and the self has a long history.Prior studies showed that individuals have trait-congruency self-schema and that some health-related personality traits are related to positive or negative self-schema.Other-schemas also are important and related to mental health.However,few studies have focused on the relation of personality,self-schema and other-schema.According to previous studies,self-schema and other-schema are assumed to be the cognitive units of personal self-support.Specifically,the present study presumed that the self-schema and other-schema of high personal self-support people would be more positive than those for low personal self-support people.Two studies were designed to test our hypotheses by explicit and implicit experiments,respectively.Sixty undergraduate students selected from a larger pool of 189 students were invited to participate in the two studies.The high and low personal self-support groups both had 30 participants,respectively.Study 1 used the adjective-rated task to explore the relation of personal self-support,self-schema and other-schema at the explicit level.The results revealed that there were no significant different between high and low personal self-support groups on reaction times.The rated grades for positive adjectives in the high personal self-support group were significantly higher than those in the low personal self-support group.In addition,the rated grades of high personal self-support group for negative adjectives were marginally significantly lower than those for the low personal self-support group.In study 2,the relation of personal self-support,self-schema and other-schema were examined at the implicit level using the extrinsic affective Simon task (EAST).The results showed that EAST reaction time scores on past self and future self in high personal self-support group did not significantly differ from comparable scores in the low personal self-support group.EAST reaction time scores on present-self,past-other,present-other,and future-other for the high personal self-support group were significantly greater than for the low personal self-support group.There were no significant differences between the high and the low personal self-support groups on EAST error rate scores.Overall,our hypotheses were supported in both studies.This suggests that individuals with high personal self-support have positive self-schema and other-schema,whereas individuals with low personal self-support have negative self-schema and other-schema.

Five-factor Personality Dimensions and 3 Health-related Personality Constructs as Predictors of Health

To examine how 5-factor personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) and 3 higher-order health-related personality constructs (negative experience, optimistic control, and passivity) are related to self-reports of subjective health outcomes (positive and negative mood, physical symptoms, and general health concern) and objective health conditions (chronic illnesses, serious illnesses, and physical injuries). The study was carried out on a sample of 822 healthy volunteers (438 women and 384 men, from 18 to 84 years). Data were analyzed by hierarchical regression analyses for measures of subjective health outcomes used as criterion variables and binary logistic regression analyses for objective health conditions used as criterion variables. Three health-related personality constructs significantly predicted all subjective health measures above and beyond 5-factor personality dimensions. Out of the 5-factor personality dimensions, neuroticism was most consistently related to worse subjective health outcomes, while out of 3 health-related personality constructs, negative experience was related to worse and optimistic control to better subjective health outcomes. When objective health conditions were taken into account as criterion variables, both sets of variables were relatively weak predictors. Only 5-factor personality traits as a group of variables significantly predicted chronic illnesses (chi(2)(5)=15.06; P=0.012; Nagelkerke R(2)=0.032). Only neuroticism significantly predicted the presence of chronic illnesses (odds ratio [OR], 1.091; 95.0% confidence interval [CI], 1.040-1.144), whereas only optimistic control was related to more frequent physical injuries caused by accidents (OR, 1.285; 95.0% CI, 1.002-1.648). Five-factor personality traits and 3 health-related personality constructs may be useful factors in a multidisciplinary approach to understanding personality-health relationship.

PRACTICE OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARD BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION (BSE): A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUNGER WOMEN IN SCOTLAND AND GREECE

Breast self-examination (BSE) is a method of early detection of breast cancer. Although BSE is recommended for all women, it is mostly suitable and readily available for younger women. BSE beliefs and practices of women in Scotland, a country with organised health campaigns about BSE, were compared with those of women in Greece, a country without such campaigns. Our sample consisted of 68 university students in Scotland and Greece, aged 18 to 26 years old. All participants completed a questionnaire assessing demographics, health history, knowledge, BSE practice, health beliefs, and health-related personality. BSE practice was found to be associated with different variables across the two cultural groups. Adherence rates were found particularly higher than previous reports and BSE practice did not differ significantly between women in Scotland and Greece. Nevertheless, the two groups differed significantly in their knowledge, attitudes toward BSE, and health-related personality. On the basis of these findings, cultural factors should be considered in organising BSE campaigns. Also the present findings identified BSE-related beliefs and practices specific to younger age groups. These could be considered and addressed in order to organise BSE campaigns in Greece and improve future UK programs especially tailored for this age group.

Personality and physical health: toward an ecological approach to health-related personality research

A vast academic literature shows that personality significantly mediates and moderates relationships between environmental stress and the onset and progression of physical disease. In the psychological literature, several models have been proposed for such links between personality and disease. Most of these models focus on the role of stress resistance, induced hyperactivity, constitutional predispositions, and risk factors such as the voluntary or forced exposure to perilous circumstances. It will be argued that at this moment, more than ever, personality psychologists and health psychologists should pose the fundamental question ‘What units shall we employ?’. A multifactor approach is suggested that acknowledges the role of (i) environmental factors as well as (ii) the individual's personal resources. Examples will be given of how the adoption of an ecological perspective can provide the tools for studying conditional effects in personality and disease research. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Using personality variables to predict cancer and heart disease

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the scales from Grossarth-Maticek in the prediction of cancer and coronary heart disease (CHD). Factor analyses, based on responses from a community sample of 5133 subjects between the ages of 40 and 65, showed that the scale measuring Type 1 (disposition for cancer) correlated highly with the scale measuring Type 2 (disposition for CHD) personalities. Both scales had high positive loadings on a factor which had positive markers of neuroticism and depression and negative markers of optimism, sense of coherence, and social support. In two separate case–control studies, the Type 1, 2, and 4 (disposition for health) scales failed to successfully discriminate between groups of healthy individuals and those with a clinical diagnosis of cancer or CHD. Logistic regression analyses using data from the community sample showed that traditional risk factors such as gender, passive smoking, and neuroticism led to significant discrimination between healthy subjects and subjects with cancer or CHD. In contrast the scales from Grossarth-Maticek explained only a small part of the health versus illness variance and have little incremental validity over other traditional health-related personality constructs. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Using personality variables to predict cancer and heart disease

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the scales from GrossarthMaticek in the prediction of cancer and coronary heart disease (CHD). Factor analyses, based on responses from a community sample of 5133 subjects between the ages of 40 and 65, showed that the scale measuring Type 1 (disposition for cancer) correlated highly with the scale measuring Type 2 (disposition for CHD) personalities. Both scales had high positive loadings on a factor which had positive markers of neuroticism and depression and negative markers of optimism, sense of coherence, and social support. In two separate case‐control studies, the Type 1, 2, and 4 (disposition for health) scales failed to successfully discriminate between groups of healthy individuals and those with a clinical diagnosis of cancer or CHD. Logistic regression analyses using data from the community sample showed that traditional risk factors such as gender, passive smoking, and neuroticism led to significant discrimination between healthy subjects and subjects with cancer or CHD. In contrast the scales from Grossarth-Maticek explained only a small part of the health versus illness variance and have little incremental validity over other traditional health-related personality constructs. & 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ego-Strength, Hardiness, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Maladjustment: Health-Related Personality Constructs and the “Big Five” Model of Personality

Six personality measures used in health psychology; the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) criterion measures of stress, self-reported health status, and coping; and a measure of social desirability were administered to samples of college students and adult community volunteers ( N = 589) in a series of four confirmatory and exploratory factor analytic studies. The hypothesis that the six independently developed personality measures of ego-strength, hardiness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, optimism, and maladjustment would share common variance and that a hierarchical factor model with a single, higher-order Health Proneness factor loading two lower-order factors—Self-Confidence and Adjustment—would account for the covariance in these measures was tested against single and three-factor models and confirmed. The factor model was examined with respect to general personality as represented in the “Big Five” Model. Adjustment was related negatively to NEO-FFI Neuroticism and positively to NEO-FFI Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, whereas Self-Confidence was related to NEO-FFI Extraversion. None of these relationships is extensive, nor does any one account for more than 40% of the variance. Evidence of the validity of Self-Confidence and Adjustment was found in their moderate relationships to measures of stress, health status, and coping, and in their weak relationships to social desirability and negative affectivity.

The five-factor model of personality as a framework for personality-health research.

The NEO Five Factor Personality Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1989) and representative personality scales drawn from health psychology were administered to 2 samples of male military recruits (Ns = 296 and 502). Factor analysis of health-related personality scales revealed 3 conceptually meaningful domains. Examination of these domains and their constituent scales, with reference to the 5-factor model of personality, permits 3 general conclusions. First, most health-relevant dimensions and scales appear to be complex mixtures of broad personality domains. Second, variation in many health-related personality instruments is explained to a significant degree by the 5-factor model. Third, 2 of the 5 personality domains (i.e., conscientiousness and openness) appear to be substantially neglected in health psychology research.