The research of this revised competing continuation grant will examine the relationships between longevity/cause of death and key behavioral and psychosocial predictors. In particular, this research will test hypothesized relations between major stressor patterns and response patterns earlier in life and subsequent premature death in middle and old age. The design is an archival prospective cohort study. The raw data come from the longitudinal Terman Life Cycle Study, begun in 1921 by L. Terman and continued by R. Sears and others, plus additional data on cause of death recently collected in the ongoing research. The subjects are 857 men and 671 women followed from their childhood in the 1920's until the present, the longest continuous cohort study ever conducted. In the ongoing research, reliable indices of childhood personality, childhood stress (e.g. broken families), adult health behaviors (alcohol use, smoking, body mass), actual and perceived social support, and related indices have been created or gathered, and it has been established through statistical survival analyses that some of these key variables predict longevity across the life-span. The planned research involves the explaining of cause of death and longevity--i.e. the testing of models.--employing these and related psychosocial stresses and resources. Significant questions in behavioral medicine, psychosocial epidemiology, and health psychology involving the long-term effects of conscientiousness, optimism' social ties, and health-relevant behaviors (smoking, drinking, overeating, exercise) will be addressed using survival analyses, supplemented by logistic regression analyses as appropriate. Male/female differences in longevity, including documented differences in longevity correlates of marriage, also will be examined further in an attempt to shed light on puzzling gender differences. This study will thus provide important information relevant to our understanding of the influence of social, individual, and behavioral factors on longevity and cause of death across the life span.
| Kern, Margaret L; Reynolds, Chandra A; Friedman, Howard S (2010) Predictors of physical activity patterns across adulthood: a growth curve analysis. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 36:1058-72 |
| Friedman, Howard S; Kern, Margaret L; Reynolds, Chandra A (2010) Personality and health, subjective well-being, and longevity. J Pers 78:179-216 |
| Elder, Glen H; Clipp, Elizabeth C; Brown, James Scott et al. (2009) The Life-Long Mortality Risks Of World War II Experiences. Res Aging 31:391-412 |
| McCullough, Michael E; Friedman, Howard S; Enders, Craig K et al. (2009) Does devoutness delay death? Psychological investment in religion and its association with longevity in the Terman sample. J Pers Soc Psychol 97:866-82 |
| Kern, Margaret L; Friedman, Howard S; Martin, Leslie R et al. (2009) Conscientiousness, career success, and longevity: a lifespan analysis. Ann Behav Med 37:154-63 |
| Taga, Keiko A; Friedman, Howard S; Martin, Leslie R (2009) Early personality traits as predictors of mortality risk following conjugal bereavement. J Pers 77:669-90 |
| Kern, Margaret L; Friedman, Howard S (2008) Early educational milestones as predictors of lifelong academic achievement, midlife adjustment, and longevity. J Appl Dev Psychol 30:419-430 |
| Friedman, Howard S (2008) The multiple linkages of personality and disease. Brain Behav Immun 22:668-75 |
| Kern, Margaret L; Friedman, Howard S (2008) Do conscientious individuals live longer? A quantitative review. Health Psychol 27:505-12 |
| Martin, Leslie R; Friedman, Howard S; Schwartz, Joseph E (2007) Personality and mortality risk across the life span: the importance of conscientiousness as a biopsychosocial attribute. Health Psychol 26:428-36 |
Showing the most recent 10 out of 23 publications
