Personality traits are differentially linked to mental disorders: a multitrait-multidiagnosis study of an adolescent birth cohort

We describe a psychoeducational group intervention for family members of persons living with AIDS. The 33 family members were compared with 13 waiting-list controls in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. We focus on the practice aspects of the intervention, its development and implementation, and our belief that it is an apparently effective approach for helping family members work through the social and emotional aspects of the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS.     

Social role and birth cohort influences on gender-linked personality traits in women: A 20-year longitudinal analysis.

Growth curve modeling was used to examine the impact of social role experiences (e.g., marital support, occupational prestige) and birth cohort on mean-level differences and age-related changes in positive personality traits indicative of either femininity or masculinity in 758 mothers heterogeneous in age, assessed 4 times over 2 decades. Both femininity and masculinity increased significantly from mean ages 39 through 59; each was predictive of an age change in the other. Low masculinity was associated with a more rapid increase in femininity, whereas high occupational prestige decreased the magnitude of association between masculinity and femininity. Femininity increased with more marital support but decreased with unmarried status, more children at home, and working full or part time; among full-time workers, that effect was modified by marital support. Masculinity increased with full-time work and high occupational prestige. A trend for differing levels of femininity, and contrasting associations of masculinity with femininity and marital conflict in women born after 1944 compared with those born earlier, suggests shifting social norms and gender relations in the marital role. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality change in women from college to midlife.

Personality scores of female college seniors studied in 1958 or 1960, again when they were 27 years old, and again when they were 43 show significant mean changes and high stability coefficients on the California Psychological Inventory, Joffe-Naditch coping scales, Adjective Check List, and other measures. Changes in personality were largely consistent with theories of adult development. In these women, a major factor associated with change appears to be an increase in sex role specialization in their late 20s and a decrease in their later years that is accompanied by increases in confidence, dominance, and coping skills. The normative pattern of change was not confined to women on any one particular life path, but was most pronounced in women who actively engaged in some "social clock project." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and the incidence of hypertension among older men: Longitudinal findings from the Normative Aging Study.

Personality predictors of hypertension incidence were studied in 838 community-residing men from the Normative Aging Study. They were followed over a mean of 17 years during which time 38% developed hypertension. Stepwise proportional hazards regression was used to identify scales from the Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire that predicted hypertension incidence, controlling for biomedical, social, and behavioral risk factors. There was a significant negative relation between the personality trait of emotional stability and the incidence of hypertension, controlling for baseline blood pressure, education, and alcohol consumption. These results support those who argue that personality characteristics predict the development of hypertension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Low birth weight and cognitive outcomes: Evidence for a gradient relationship in an urban, poor, African American birth cohort.

This study is one of the first to investigate the relationship between low birth weight and cognitive outcomes in an urban, poor, prospectively designed African-American birth cohort. Multivariate analyses of the Pathways to Adulthood study, a subset of the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal study, compared low birth weight African-American children with normal birth weight African-American children on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) at seven years of age. When controlling for various sociodemographic factors, associations were obtained for the very low birth weight group (less than 2000 g) indicating an overall 7 point IQ difference. Milder associations were reported in the moderately low birth weight (MLBW) group (2000 to 2500 g) resulting in a 3 IQ point decrement compared to a normal birth weight reference group. There were no differential effects for gender. Our study revealed a gradient relationship between low birth weight/preterm birth and cognitive ability. Implications for school psychology prevention, assessment, and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of birth order to sexual orientation in men and women

BACKGROUND: Neutral lipases are ubiquitous and diverse enzymes. The molecular architecture of the structurally characterized lipases is similar, often despite a lack of detectable homology at the sequence level. Some of the microbial lipases are evolutionarily related to physiologically important mammalian enzymes. For example, limited sequence similarities were recently noted for the Streptomyces exfoliatus lipase (SeL) and two mammalian platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolases (PAF-AHs). The determination of the crystal structure of SeL allowed us to explore the structure-function relationships in this novel family of homologous hydrolases. RESULTS: The crystal structure of SeL was determined by multiple isomorphous replacement and refined using data to 1.9 A resolution. The molecule exhibits the canonical tertiary fold of an alpha/beta hydrolase. The putative nucleophilic residue, Ser131, is located within a nucleophilic elbow and is hydrogen bonded to His209, which in turn interacts with Asp177. These three residues create a triad that closely resembles the catalytic triads found in the active sites of other neutral lipases. The mainchain amides of Met132 and Phe63 are perfectly positioned to create an oxyanion hole. Unexpectedly, there are no secondary structure elements that could render the active site inaccessible to solvent, like the lids that are commonly found in neutral lipases. CONCLUSIONS: The crystal structure of SeL reinforces the notion that it is a homologue of the mammalian PAF-AHs. We have used the catalytic triad in SeL to model the active site of the PAF-AHs. Our model is consistent with the site-directed mutagenesis studies of plasma PAF-AH, which implicate Ser273, His351 and Asp296 in the active site. Our study therefore provides direct support for the hypothesis that the plasma and isoform II PAF-AHs are triad-containing alpha/beta hydrolases.     

Memory and depressive symptoms are dynamically linked among married couples: Longitudinal evidence from the AHEAD study.

This study examined dyadic interrelations between episodic memory and depressive symptom trajectories of change in old and advanced old age. The authors applied dynamic models to 10-year incomplete longitudinal data of initially 1,599 married couples from the study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (Mage = 75 years at Time 1). The authors found domain-specific lead–lag associations (time lags of 2 years) among wives and husbands as well as between spouses. For memory, better performance among husbands protected against subsequent memory decline among wives, with no evidence of a directed effect in the other direction. For depressive symptoms, wives’ scores predicted subsequent depression increase and memory decline among husbands. Possible individual covariates (age, education, functional limitations) and spousal covariates (length of marriage, number of children, and whether the couple remained intact over the study period) did not account for differential lead–lag associations. The findings of antecedent–consequent relations between wives and husbands are consistent with life-span notions that individual development both influences and is influenced by contextual factors such as close social relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital satisfaction, recovery from work, and diurnal cortisol among men and women.

Design: Multilevel modeling was used to model relationships between salivary cortisol, daily diary ratings of work experiences, and Marital Adjustment Test scores (Locke & Wallace, 1959), in a sample of 60 adults who sampled saliva 4 times per day over 3 days. Results: Among women but not men, marital satisfaction was significantly associated with a stronger basal cortisol cycle, with higher morning values and a steeper decline across the day. For women but not men, marital satisfaction moderated the within-subjects association between afternoon and evening cortisol level, such that marital quality appeared to bolster women's physiological recovery from work. For both men and women, evening cortisol was lower than usual on higher-workload days, and marital satisfaction augmented this association among women. Men showed higher evening cortisol after more distressing social experiences at work, an association that was strongest among men with higher marital satisfaction. Conclusion: This work has implications for the study of physiological recovery from work, and also suggests a pathway by which marital satisfaction influences allostatic load and physical health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consensual validation of personality traits: Evidence from self-reports and ratings.

Self-reports from 281 21–89 yr olds were correlated with their spouses' ratings of them on a set of 18 traits in the domains of neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience. Correlations ranged from .30 to .58 for the individual scales and from .51 to .60 for the 3 global domain scores. A multitrait, multimethod analysis, including the Eysenck Personality Inventory as a 2nd self-report instrument, showed evidence of convergent and divergent validity in both men and women. The use of a personality inventory format for ratings and the choice of spouse as rater contributed to the relatively high agreement, and agreement was probably moderated by the observability of the trait as well as S's gender. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and substance dependence symptoms: Modeling substance-specific traits.

Personality traits related to neuroticism and disinhibition have been consistently associated with substance use disorders (SUDs). It is unclear, however, whether different personality traits predict distinct forms of substance dependence. Additionally, it is unclear whether personality traits continue to predict alcohol, drug, and tobacco dependence after controlling for comorbid antisociality and other SUDs. The current study addresses these questions by characterizing relations between personality traits and substance dependence symptoms in a longitudinal sample of 3,720 college students. Results revealed that antisociality and certain core personality traits predicted multiple types of substance pathology. In addition, several personality traits were differentially associated with alcohol, drug, and tobacco symptomatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and social resources in immediate and continued stress resistance among women.

Investigated the immediate and continued impact on women of a major stressful event, the outcome of pregnancy, and the mitigating effect of self-esteem and intimacy with their spouse on their reactions. 99 Israeli women (aged 17–40 yrs) who experienced either normal delivery or pregnancy complications were interviewed at the time of the event and 3 mo later. High self-esteem was found to limit feelings of depression at both times. Intimacy with spouse limited depression at the event, but not at follow-up. High self-esteem was seen as always being exploitable by women who possessed it, whereas the benefit of intimacy with spouse was seen as being dependent on situational demands and environmental constraints. Cross-cultural implications are presented. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional responses to work-family conflict: An examination of gender role orientation among working men and women.

The present study tested the effect of work-family conflict on emotions and the moderating effects of gender role orientation. On the basis of a multilevel design, the authors found that family-interfering-with- work was positively related to guilt, and gender role orientation interacted with both types of conflict (work-interfering-with-family and family-interfering-with-work) to predict guilt. Specifically, in general, traditional individuals experienced more guilt from family-interfering-with-work, and egalitarian individuals experienced more guilt from work-interfering-with-family. Additionally, a higher level interaction indicated that traditional men tended to experience a stronger relationship between family-interfering-with-work and guilt than did egalitarian men or women of either gender role orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spontaneous trait inferences are bound to actors' faces: Evidence from a false recognition paradigm.

A false recognition paradigm showed that spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) are bound to the person performing a trait-implying behavior. In 6 experiments, participants memorized faces and behavioral sentences. When faces were paired with implied traits in a recognition test, participants falsely recognized these traits more often than unrelated traits paired with the same faces or the same traits paired with familiar faces. The effect was obtained for a large set of behaviors (120), each presented for 5 sec, and for behaviors that participants did not subsequently recognize or recall. Antonyms of the implied traits were falsely recognized less often than unrelated traits, suggesting that STIs have extended implications. Explicit person-trait judgments predicted both false recognition and response times for implied traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of women and men as entrepreneurs: Evidence for differential effects of attributional augmenting.

It was hypothesized that perceptions of women who become entrepreneurs are enhanced by attributional augmenting because they adopt this role despite major obstacles to doing so. In contrast, attributional augmenting was expected to operate to a lesser degree for men who become entrepreneurs because they presumably face weaker obstacles. Three studies offered support for these hypotheses; all of these investigations used between-subjects designs in which women and men shown in standard-format photos were described to different groups of raters as being either entrepreneurs or managers. As predicted, raters assigned significantly higher scores to women, but not to men, when they were described as entrepreneurs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality structure as viewed through early memories and identity status in college men and women.

Early memories were obtained from 98 undergraduates in the 4 identity status categories and rated for psychosocial maturity in order to replicate an earlier study by R. L. Josselson (see record 1983-23229-001) with college women. In a result that was consistent with those of that earlier study and other studies in which deeper aspects of personality development that underlie identity formation were assessed, identity-achievement and moratorium Ss exhibited more developmentally advanced concerns in their early memories than did foreclosure and identity-diffusion Ss. In another result that was consistent with the interpretation that identity achievement often involves a rapprochement between needs for the relatedness and individuation, identity-achievement Ss of both sexes were found to blend secondary, less mature themes involving nurturance and security with the more mature themes of mastery, competition, and independent activity that were primary in their early memories. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal consequences of depression: Responses to men and women enacting a depressed role.

To investigate interpersonal consequences of depressed behavior, telephone interactions were conducted between same- and opposite-sex pairs of 62 male and 64 female undergraduates. In each pair, one person enacted a depressed or nondepressed role. The content of the 2 roles differed only in the presence or absence of characteristically depressive affect and attitudes. Ratings of interest in further contact, personal rejection, and perceived impairment of role functioning all revealed a similar pattern: Depressed persons were more strongly rejected than nondepressed persons, especially by persons of the opposite sex. Interactions with depressed persons elicited significantly more depression in the listener than did interactions with nondepressed persons. Moreover, significantly more feminine traits were attributed to depressed than nondepressed persons. The responses of others to depressed individuals are discussed with respect to their implications for conceptualizing and treating depression. The results also have implications for the understanding of sex differences in the epidemiology of depression. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognition and depression in a cohort of aging men: Results from the Western Collaborative Group Study.

Relationships between cognitive performance and self-ratings of depression on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D; L.S. Radloff, 1977) were examined for 1,217 older men. After controlling for demographic variables and both objective and subjective measures of health, significant associations were observed between several CES-D variables and measures of cognitive mental status, memory, and psychomotor speed. The Well-Being factor of the CES-D was the most robust predictor of cognitive scores. Therefore, for older adults with generally favorable health and socioeconomic resources, there may be a link between positive affect and maintenance of cognitive effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and drinking behavior among women and men: A three-wave longitudinal study of older adults.

This 3-wave longitudinal study analyzed latent variable cross-lagged models of the relation between depressive symptoms and drinking behavior separately for 621 late-middle-aged women and 951 late-middle-aged men. Time lags of 1 and 3 years were used. Among women, heavier alcohol consumption predicted less depressive symptomatology 1 and 3 years later, whereas among men, having more depressive symptoms predicted less alcohol consumption later on. Including cross-temporal paths in the women's depression-drinking problems model did not provide a significant improvement over hypothesizing no cross-temporal effects. Among men, however, having more drinking problems was associated with fewer depressive symptoms 3 years later. These findings were robust in follow-up analyses controlling for the effects of socioeconomic and health status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)