A New Look at Neuroticism: Should We Worry So Much About Worrying?

Weiss, Alexander; Deary, Ian J.

doi:10.1177/0963721419887184

Cited by 45 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Across current and previous COVID-19 findings, the weighted average association (determined by the r-to-z approach) is r = À.15, representing a small negative effect. Instead of the expected anxiety-provoked vigilance (Friedman, 2000;Weiss & Deary, 2019), people high in neuroticism reported fewer precautions, which is consistent with high neuroticism leading to undesirable coping behaviours (Cooper, Agocha, & Sheldon, 2000). Notably, this association was not moderated by age or conscientiousness, although there was some trend indicating that high neuroticism and low conscientiousness is an unfavourable combination when it comes to the adoption of health behaviours, as reported in previous research (Terracciano & Costa, 2004).…”

Section: Neuroticismsupporting

confidence: 82%

Psychological and behavioural responses to Coronavirus disease 2019: The role of personality

et al. 2020

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This study examined the associations between personality traits and psychological and behavioural responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Personality was assessed in January/February 2020 when the public was not aware of the spread of coronavirus in the USA. Participants were reassessed in late March 2020 with four sets of questions about the pandemic: concerns, precautions, preparatory behaviours, and duration estimates. The sample consisted of N = 2066 participants (mean age = 51.42; range = 18–98; 48.5% women). Regression models were used to analyse the data with age, gender, education, race, and ethnicity as covariates. Consistent with the preregistered hypotheses, higher neuroticism was related to more concerns and longer duration estimates related to COVID‐19, higher extraversion was related to shorter duration estimates, and higher conscientiousness was associated with more precautions. In contrast to the preregistered hypotheses, higher neuroticism was associated with fewer precautions and unrelated to preparatory behaviours. Age moderated several trait–response associations, suggesting that some of the responses were associated more strongly in older adults, a group at risk for complications of COVID‐19. For example, older adults high in conscientiousness prepared more. The present findings provide insights into how personality predicts concerns and behaviours related to the COVID‐19 pandemic. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology

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Section: Neuroticismsupporting

confidence: 82%

Psychological and behavioural responses to Coronavirus disease 2019: The role of personality

et al. 2020

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“…Although similar negative relations between Neuroticism and BMI have been reported previously 13,50,51 , positive correlations have been found between them elsewhere 52,53 . Future studies could consider potential moderators to clarify the nature of their links.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Two genetic analyses to elucidate causality between body mass index and personality

Arumäe¹,

Briley²,

Colodro‐Conde³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Importance: Many personality traits robustly correlate with BMI, but the existence and direction of causality are unclear. As personality traits also correlate with various other mental and physical health outcomes, understanding causality in these intersections is widely useful; understanding causality between BMI and personality specifically could inform weight management strategies (if personality influences BMI) or delineate mechanisms of personality development (if otherwise).Objective: To test the existence and direction of causal links between BMI and personality.Design: Two genetically informed analyses. In Mendelian randomization, an allele score for BMI was used to predict eating-specific and domain-general phenotypic personality scores, and allele scores for personality traits were used to predict phenotypic BMI. In Direction of Causation, twin data were used to infer the best-fitting causal model (personality influencing BMI, BMI influencing personality, reciprocal causation, or no causation).Setting: Cross-sectional data: molecular genetic data for Mendelian randomization, twin data for Direction of Causation.Participants: Mendelian randomization used Estonian Biobank data (N=3,541); Direction of Causation combined twin samples from five countries (N=5,424).Exposures: In Mendelian randomization, genetic propensity for BMI and the personality traits Neuroticism, Worry, and Depressive Affect was summarized in allele scores. In Direction of Causation, phenotypic BMI and phenotypic personality scores were treated as both exposures and outcomes. Phenotypic scores for domain-general and eating-specific personality were calculated by summing relevant questionnaire items weighted by their empirical association with BMI, maximizing statistical power.Main outcomes and measures: Phenotypic BMI and phenotypic personality scores.Results: The allele score for BMI predicted domain-general (β=0.05, 95% CI 0.01–0.08, P=.009) and eating-specific phenotypic personality score (β=0.05, 95% CI 0.01–0.08, P=.009). The allele score for Worry also predicted BMI (β=-0.07, 95% CI -0.10–-0.03, P<.001), while those for Neuroticism and Depressive Affect did not (P≥.358). In Direction of Causation, BMI similarly predicted domain-general (β=0.21, 95% CI 0.18–0.24, P<.001) and eating-specific personality (β=0.19, 95% CI 0.16–0.22, P<.001). In exploratory analyses, causal links between BMI and domain-general personality traits appeared reciprocal for higher-weight individuals (BMI>~25).Conclusions and Relevance: Results suggest an influence of BMI on personality. Maintaining or achieving normal-range weight may contribute to a more favorable personality profile, possibly relevant in mental health and general well-being.Supplement: Supplementary online content available at https://osf.io/meqxn/

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“…Despite our interest in neuroticism, the null findings are perhaps not surprising given that previous studies have reported mixed evidence of associations between neuroticism and inflammatory markers (Luchetti et al, 2014). In addition, it is also apparent that the associations between neuroticism, health, and mortality are quite nuanced (see Weiss & Deary, 2020;Graham et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Personality Pathways to Mortality: Interleukin-6 Links Conscientiousness to Mortality Risk

Ó’Súilleabháin¹,

Turiano²,

Gerstorf³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Personality is associated consistently with mortality hazards, but the physiological pathways are not yet clear. Immune system dysregulation may be one such pathway due to its role in age-related morbidity and mortality. In this preregistered study, we tested whether interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) mediated the associations between personality traits and mortality hazards. The present sample were 957 participants from the Midlife in the United States Survey that had 14 years of follow-up. Higher conscientiousness was associated with reduced mortality hazards, with each one standard deviation increase in conscientiousness associated with a 35% lower mortality risk. IL-6, but not CRP, partially mediated this association, with IL-6 accounting from 18% of this association in the fully adjusted model. There was not robust evidence that the biomarkers mediating the other four traits and mortality. Taken together, higher conscientiousness may lead to a longer life partially as a result of lower IL-6.

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A New Look at Neuroticism: Should We Worry So Much About Worrying?

Cited by 45 publications

References 33 publications

Psychological and behavioural responses to Coronavirus disease 2019: The role of personality

Psychological and behavioural responses to Coronavirus disease 2019: The role of personality

Two genetic analyses to elucidate causality between body mass index and personality

Personality Pathways to Mortality: Interleukin-6 Links Conscientiousness to Mortality Risk

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