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Do personality characteristics predict longevity? Findings from the Tokyo Centenarian Study
Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
|January 19, 2012
Summary
Personality traits like openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion are linked to longevity. This study compared centenarians
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Personality traits are hypothesized to influence health and longevity.
- Centenarians represent a unique population for studying factors contributing to extreme longevity.
- Existing research often relies on retrospective personality assessments, which can be unreliable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between personality characteristics and longevity.
- To compare the personality profiles of centenarians with those of younger elderly individuals.
- To develop and utilize a novel method for assessing personality in centenarians.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 70 cognitively intact Japanese centenarians (aged 100-106 years) and 1812 elderly controls (aged 60-84 years) from Tokyo.
- Utilized the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) to measure the 'big five' personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
- Employed a novel method comparing actual centenarian personality test scores with predicted scores for 100-year-olds derived from younger control data.
Main Results:
- Centenarians exhibited significantly higher scores in openness compared to controls.
- Female centenarians showed higher scores in conscientiousness and extraversion than female controls.
- These findings suggest a positive association between higher conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness, and exceptional longevity.
Conclusions:
- Specific personality traits, namely conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness, are associated with achieving extreme longevity.
- These traits may contribute to longevity through promoting health-related behaviors, effective stress reduction, and enhanced adaptation to age-related challenges.
- The findings underscore the potential role of personality in the aging process and survival.
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