Openness to experience is related to better memory ability in older adults with questionable dementia

The personality traits Openness to experience and Neuroticism of the five-factor model have previously been associated with memory performance in nondemented older adults, but this relationship has not been investigated in samples with memory impairment. Our examination of 50 community-dwelling older adults (29 cognitively intact; 21 with questionable dementia as determined by the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale) showed that demographic variables (age, years of education, gender, and estimated premorbid IQ) and current depressive symptoms explained a significant amount of variance of Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Status Delayed Memory (adjusted R (2) = 0.23). After controlling for these variables, a measure of global cognitive status further explained a significant portion of variance in memory performance (ΔR(2) = 0.13; adjusted R(2) = 0.36; p < .01). Finally, adding Openness to this hierarchical linear regression model explained a significant additional portion of variance (ΔR(2) = 0.08; adjusted R(2) = 0.44; p < .01) but adding Neuroticism did not explain any additional variance. This significant relationship between Openness and better memory performance above and beyond one's cognitive status and demographic variables may suggest that a lifelong pattern of involvement in new cognitive activities could be preserved in old age or protect from memory decline. This study suggests that personality may be a powerful predictor of memory ability and clinically useful in this heterogeneous population.