Related Experiment Videos
Longitudinal findings from the Normative Aging Study: II. Do emotionality and extraversion predict symptom change?
A Spiro1, C M Aldwin, M R Levenson
1Normative Aging Study, Boston Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic, Massachusetts.
Journal of Gerontology
|July 1, 1990
Summary
Personality traits like emotionality and extraversion correlate with symptom reporting at one point in time. However, these personality traits do not predict future changes in physical or psychological symptoms over time.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Longitudinal Studies
Background:
- Personality traits are hypothesized to influence health outcomes.
- Emotionality and extraversion are key personality dimensions.
- Symptom reporting can be subjective and influenced by various factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between emotionality, extraversion, and symptom reporting.
- To determine if personality traits predict changes in self-reported symptoms over time.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study of 1,034 healthy men over an average of 17 years.
- Utilized the 16PF questionnaire for personality assessment.
- Employed a two-stage growth model to analyze self-reported physical and psychological symptoms using the CMIs.
Main Results:
- Cross-sectionally, emotionality positively correlated with symptom reporting, while extraversion showed a negative correlation.
- Regression analyses indicated emotionality was associated with the level of symptom reporting, controlling for age.
- Longitudinal analyses found emotionality unrelated to changes in physical symptoms and weakly related to changes in psychological symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Personality traits are associated with symptom reporting at a single time point.
- Personality traits do not predict the trajectory or changes in symptom reporting over extended periods.
- The relationship between personality and symptom reporting is primarily cross-sectional.