Does personality predict health and well-being? A metasynthesis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Health Sciences
• Behavioral Medicine

Background:

• The relationship between personality and health is a significant area of research.
• Understanding these links can inform public health strategies and personalized medicine.
• Previous studies have yielded varied results, necessitating a comprehensive synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a metasynthesis (second-order meta-analysis) of Big Five personality traits and health variables.
• To provide a robust and comprehensive estimate of the overall relation between personality and health.
• To explore factors moderating the personality-health association.

Main Methods:

• A metasynthesis was performed on 36 existing meta-analyses, encompassing over 500,000 participants.
• Data on methodological quality, health outcome type, unreliability adjustment, and sample characteristics were extracted.
• An unweighted model was utilized to aggregate findings across the included meta-analyses.

Main Results:

• The Big Five personality traits collectively showed a moderate association with overall health (multiple R = .35).
• Associations were stronger for mental health outcomes compared to physical health or behaviors.
• Larger effects were observed when adjusting for measurement unreliability, using self-report measures, and in clinical samples.

Conclusions:

• This metasynthesis offers strong evidence that personality traits predict health and well-being.
• Findings may guide research into the mechanisms linking personality to health.
• The results can also inform future research on personality structure and its health implications.