Personality traits have emerged as important predictors of health outcomes, including mortality risk. Recent findings, including our own from the previous project period, also show that health behaviors such as smoking and substance use are important mediators of the personality-health association. These prior findings can be enhanced, deepened and translated in 3 ways. First, dynamic modeling of longitudinal personality and health data can deepen our understanding of the association between the two. Second, replicability, reproducibility and cumulative science in personality and health can be enhanced through the use of multiple data sets in an Integrated Data Analysis (IDA) format. Third, extension of this work toward health care utilization outcomes can help translate research on personality and health into useful tools that health care providers can utilize. In this competing renewal, we propose to do each of these three. We request support for further data analyses within the Boston VA Normative Aging Study (NAS), as well as to obtain one more wave of longitudinal data (Aim 1). Recognizing that the NAS is rapidly decreasing in size due to high mean age and increased mortality, we are also requesting support to expand our studies to 13 other longitudinal studies that are part of the IALSA, or Integrated Analysis of Longitudinal Studies of Aging (Aim 2). This will transition our research program toward a large group of ongoing longitudinal studies. It will also enhance replicability of our findings through use of multiple datasets. Lastly, we will move to a translational focus by conducting studies of personality and health care utilization (Aim 3). We believe each of our aims are significant and have high health relevance, and in concert they will lead to enhanced knowledge of how personality can affect health, mortality, and health care outcomes.
It is important to understand the psychosocial factors, especially personality traits, that predict physical health and mortality over the adult lifespan and into the older years. In particular, we require more thorough knowledge on the mechanisms through which such psychosocial factors influence disease and mortality. Among the most promising psychosocial predictors of health and mortality are personality variables, but change in these constructs may be as important for health as simple level, if not more so. In addition, it is critical to translate this knowledge into clinical applications, through targeting of health care based on personality.
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