Certain personality traits are predictors of a longer life – do you have them?
If you are organised, active and helpful, there’s a chance you could live longer than someone who is not. If you are frequently stressed, anxious or moody, you may have a shorter lifespan. Researchers behind a new study say their findings could help doctors develop tools for predicting health risks based not only on blood pressure and cholesterol but also on how someone tends to think, feel and behave (Picture: Getty)
The study is published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research and looked into linking personality traits to mortality. They found that those with the personality trait ‘conscientious’ are linked to a 15% lower risk of mortality. Conscientiousness is one of the ‘big five’ personality traits that are a part of a psychological framework categorising personality into five broad dimensions. The other four are Oopenness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Picture: Getty)
The researchers looked at the five core personality traits across 22,000 participants and measured their mortality. They found people who fell under the banner of having ‘conscientiousness’ traits were linked to a lower risk of death. This also included organised people, who have a 14% lower risk of mortality, responsible people, who have a 12% lower risk, and those who were hardworking and thorough had a 15% lower risk (Picture: Getty)
The researchers also revealed that being active, lively and helpful were also related to a lower mortality risk. Meanwhile, neurotic, worry-prone personality traits were linked to a higher risk. The study said that extraversion, referring to an individual’s energy, vigor, fast tempo, as well as engagement with life, was ‘the strongest item-level predictor of mortality’ (Picture: Getty)
People with a higher level of neuroticism, who are moody, worry-prone, nervous, and less calm may have a higher risk of mortality because they have a higher instance of disease, higher Body Mass Index (BMI) and and higher risk of smoking. But those who are more conscientious, the study said, are more likely to have healthier life choices such as better health management, higher self-discipline, responsibility and higher playfulness (Picture: Getty)
For the study, participants filled out a questionnaire and tracked their mortality between six and 28 years. Researchers did not find any link between agreeableness and mortality. The report said: ‘The present study found that being organised, responsible, and active were among the items with stronger associations with the risk of mortality. Therefore, it is likely that similar specific personality characteristics may be predictive of different health-related outcomes, such as dementia, BMI, and mortality risk’ (Picture: Getty)
Speaking to the Independent, Professor René Mõttus, from The University of Edinburgh, said that the study results suggest people could change their personality traits to improve mortality risk. He said: ‘We found that it is often these specific personality traits, nuances, that drive personality’s associations with mortality. It stands to reason that these personality nuances are easier to change than broad trait domains such as neuroticism or conscientiousness. So, our findings offer hope’ (Picture: Getty)
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