Associations of Personality Trait Level and Change with Mortality Risk in 11 Longitudinal Studies

People who are higher in conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness, and lower in neuroticism tend to live longer. The present research tested the hypothesis that personality trait change in middle and older adulthood would also be associated with mortality risk, above and beyond personality trait level. Personality trait change may causally influence mortality risk through corresponding changes in health behaviors, social processes, and stress experience. Alternatively, personality trait change may be a marker of successful or unsuccessful adaptation to life circumstances, which in turn influences mortality risk, or shared risk factors may impact personality trait change and mortality risk. In the latter case, personality trait change may serve as a “psychosocial vital sign” pointing toward increased risk. In 11 samples of middle-aged and older adults (combined N = 32,348), we used multilevel growth curve models to estimate personality trait level and personality trait change across 3-11 measurement occasions spanning 6-43 years. Next, we used Cox proportional hazards models to test whether personality trait level and personality trait change were associated with mortality risk. Higher conscientiousness (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.83), extraversion (HR = 0.93), and agreeableness (HR = 0.88) were associated with longer survival, while higher neuroticism was associated with shorter survival (HR = 1.22). In contrast to personality trait level, we found limited evidence for associations between personality trait change and mortality risk. We discuss conceptual and methodological implications of the present findings that may guide future research on associations between personality trait change, health, and mortality.