The relation between personality and anxiety: findings from a 3-year prospective study

The authors tested the extent to which the personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, and psychoticism (H. J. Eysenck & S. B. G. Eysenck, 1975) prospectively predicted global anxiety (assessed by items from the Brief Symptom Inventory: L. R. Derogatis & M. S. Spencer, 1982). The authors also examined prospective relations among these personality dimensions and depression to evaluate the specificity of findings. Participants were 466 young adults, primarily undergraduate students, assessed twice over a 3-year interval. An interaction between neuroticism and extraversion predicted both global anxiety and depression 3 years later. Findings indicated that personality, in particular the combination of high neuroticism and low extraversion, may play an important predisposing, etiological role in anxiety. Interpretations and implications of the predictive importance of the Neuroticism x Extraversion interaction in anxiety are discussed, and further speculations about the relation between anxiety and depression are put forth.     

Is “maturing out” of problematic alcohol involvement related to personality change?

Problematic alcohol involvement typically peaks in the early 20s and declines with age. This maturing out of alcohol involvement is usually attributed to individuals attaining adult statuses incompatible with heavy drinking. Nevertheless, little is known about how changes in problematic alcohol use during emerging/early adulthood relate to changes in etiologically relevant personality traits that also change during this period. This study examined the relation between changes in problematic alcohol involvement and personality (measures of impulsivity, neuroticism, and extraversion) from ages 18 to 35 in a cohort of college students (N = 489) at varying risk for alcohol use disorders. Latent growth models indicated that both normative and individual changes in alcohol involvement occur between ages 18 and 35 and that these changes are associated with changes in neuroticism and impulsivity. Moreover, marital and parental role statuses did not appear to be third-variable explanations of the associated changes in alcohol involvement and personality. Findings suggest that personality change may be an important mechanism in the maturing-out effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are anxiety and depression just as stable as personality during late adolescence? Results from a three-year longitudinal latent variable study.

Although considerable evidence shows that affective symptoms and personality traits demonstrate moderate to high relative stabilities during adolescence and early adulthood, there has been little work done to examine differential stability among these constructs or to study the manner in which the stability of these constructs is expressed. The present study used a three-year longitudinal design in an adolescent/young adult sample to examine the stability of depression symptoms, social phobia symptoms, specific phobia symptoms, neuroticism, and extraversion. When considering one-, two-, and three-year durations, anxiety and personality stabilities were generally similar and typically greater than the stability of depression. Comparison of various representations of a latent variable trait-state-occasion (TSO) model revealed that whereas the full TSO model was the best representation for depression, a trait stability model was the most parsimonious of the best-fitting models for the anxiety and personality constructs. Over three years, the percentages of variance explained by the trait component for the anxiety and personality constructs (73–84%) were significantly greater than that explained by the trait component for depression (46%). These findings indicate that symptoms of depression are more episodic in nature, whereas symptoms of anxiety are more similar to personality variables in their expression of stability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An fMRI study of personality influences on brain reactivity to emotional stimuli.

Functional imaging studies have examined which brain regions respond to emotional stimuli, but they have not determined how stable personality traits moderate such brain activation. Two personality traits, extraversion and neuroticism, are strongly associated with emotional experience and may thus moderate brain reactivity to emotional stimuli. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to directly test whether individual differences in brain reactivity to emotional stimuli are correlated with extraversion and neuroticism in healthy women. Extraversion was correlated with brain reactivity to positive stimuli in localized brain regions, and neuroticism was correlated with brain reactivity to negative stimuli in localized brain regions. This study provides direct evidence that personality is associated with brain reactivity to emotional stimuli and identifies both common and distinct brain regions where such modulation takes place. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and risk of cognitive impairment 25 years later.

The authors examined the relationship between personality and cognitive impairment in 4,039 members of the Swedish Twin Registry. Neuroticism and extraversion scores were collected in 1973 at midlife, and cognitive impairment was assessed in the same group 25 years later. Data were analyzed with case-control and co-twin control designs. Greater neuroticism was associated with higher risk of cognitive impairment in the results from case-control, but not from co-twin, analyses. Compared with both extraversion and introversion, moderate extraversion was associated with lower risk of cognitive impairment in both case-control and co-twin designs, as was the combination of high neuroticism and low extraversion. Findings are discussed in the context of theories related to personality, psychological distress, arousal, and cognitive function. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

State dependence and trait stability of perfectionism: A short-term longitudinal study.

The authors examined state dependency on depression, trait stability, and state-trait characteristics of perfectionism in a short-term longitudinal study of university students. Relative stability of perfectionism was assessed with test-retest correlations across 3 time points, and results showed higher rank order and relative stability for perfectionism scores compared with depression scores. Regression and path analyses to disentangle directions of effects revealed that initial maladaptive perfectionism scores remained robust predictors of later perfectionism scores, even after the authors controlled for prior and concurrent depression and other dimensions of perfectionism. Perfectionism proved to be quite stable and was a significant predictor of later depression. Perfectionism was also not meaningfully altered by state changes in depression. The overall findings indicate that perfectionism appears to have substantial relative stability, and perfectionistic discrepancy in particular is a clear vulnerability factor for depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal stability of personality traits: A multitrait–multimethod–multioccasion analysis.

The longitudinal stability of personality was investigated in a group of several hundred adults who were rated by themselves, their marriage partners, and their acquaintances in 1935-1938 and by themselves and their marriage partners in 1954-1955. For both men and women, there were very similar factorial structures in all five sources of ratings. Individual differences in neuroticism, social extraversion, and impulse control had reasonably high levels of longitudinal stability over a 19-year period. Both the synchronic and diachronic correlations converged across methods and discriminated among traits. Self-report personality inventory data available in 1935-1938 and 1954-1955 provided corroborating evidence of the longitudinal and methodological robustness of personality traits. In data gathered on the same panel in 1980-1981, the questionnaire and the life history correlates of neuroticism and social extraversion displayed patterns indicative of temporal stability, methodological convergence, and discrimination among constructs. The data of this longitudinal study carried out over five decades strongly indicate that there is a set of personality traits that are generalizable across methods of assessment and are stable throughout adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Love, work, and changes in extraversion and neuroticism over time.

The present study examined individual differences in change in extraversion, neuroticism, and work and relationship satisfaction. Of particular interest were the correlations between changes. Data were from the Victorian Quality of Life Panel Study (B. Headey & A. Wearing, 1989, 1992), in which an overall 1,130 individuals participated (ages 16 to 70). Respondents were assessed every 2 years from 1981 to 1989. Four major findings emerged. (a) There were significant individual differences in changes in extraversion and neuroticism. (b) Change was not limited to young adulthood. (c) Development was systematic in that increased work and relationship satisfaction was associated with decreases in neuroticism and increases in extraversion over time; on average, the magnitude of the relation between changes in work and relationship satisfaction and traits was .40. (d) Cross-lagged models indicated traits had a greater influence on role satisfaction; however, marginal support emerged for work satisfaction leading to increased extraversion. Implications of correlated change are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality development in emerging adulthood: Integrating evidence from self-ratings and spouse ratings.

The authors examined self-ratings and spouse ratings in a young adult newlywed sample across a 2-year interval. Rank-order stability correlations were consistently high and did not differ across the 2 types of ratings. As expected, self-ratings showed significant increases in conscientiousness and agreeableness- and declines in neuroticism/negative affectivity- over time. Spouse ratings yielded a very different pattern, however, showing significant decreases in conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and openness across the study interval. Spouse ratings also showed evidence of a "honeymoon effect," such that they tended to be more positive than self-ratings at Time 1. This effect had dissipated by the 2nd assessment; in fact, the spouse ratings tended to be more negative at Time 2. Analyses of individual-level change revealed little convergence between self- and spouse-rated change, using both raw change scores and reliable change index scores. Finally, correlational and regression analyses indicated that changes in spouse ratings were significantly associated with changes in marital satisfaction; in contrast, changes in self-ratings essentially were unrelated to marital satisfaction. These results highlight the value of collecting multimethod data in studies of adult personality development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of emotion experiences and their relations to traits of personality.

Presents a theoretical framework for studying emotion–personality relations and an empirical study of the stability of 88 normal middle-class mothers' emotion experiences and their relations to personality during the 3 yrs after childbirth. Ss completed the Differential Emotions Scale (DES), Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire, D. N. Jackson's Personality Research Form, and M. Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale. The DES demonstrated stability over 3 yrs. There was individual stability despite changes in group means during the postpartum period. Positive emotionality, as well as the discrete emotions of interest, enjoyment, and shyness, predicted extraversion. Negative emotionality and the discrete negative emotions were significant predictors of neuroticism. Positive emotionality was inversely related to neuroticism. There were expectable correlations among specific emotions and primary traits of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do changes in drinking motives mediate the relation between personality change and “maturing out” of problem drinking?

Recent research has indicated that developmental changes in the personality traits of neuroticism and impulsivity correlate with changes in problem drinking during emerging and young adulthood. However, it remains unclear what potential mechanisms, or mediators, could account for these associations. Drinking motives, particularly drinking to regulate negative affect (drinking to cope) and to get “high” or “drunk” (drinking for enhancement), have been posited to mediate the relationship between personality and drinking problems. Recent work indicates that changes in drinking motives parallel changes in alcohol involvement from adolescence to young adulthood. The present study examined changes in drinking motives (i.e., coping and enhancement) as potential mediators of the relation between changes in personality (impulsivity and neuroticism) with changes in alcohol problems in emerging and young adulthood. Analyses were based on data collected from a cohort of college students (N = 489) at varying risk for alcohol use disorders from ages 18 to 35. Parallel process latent growth modeling indicated that change in coping (but not enhancement) motives specifically mediated the relation between changes in neuroticism and alcohol problems as well as the relation between changes in impulsivity and alcohol problems. Findings suggest that change in coping motives is an important mechanism in the relation between personality change and the “maturing out” of problematic alcohol involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between the five-factor model of personality and Axis I disorders in a nonclinical sample.

The relationship between the 5-factor model (FFM) of personality and Axis I disorders was evaluated in a nonclinical sample of 468 young adults. In general, scores on the 5 personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (assessed via the NEO Five-Factor Inventory) distinguished Ss with and without a variety of Axis I diagnoses from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R). In several instances, results indicate that scores on these dimensions were differentially sensitive to diagnosis. Furthermore, scores on these 5 personality dimensions accounted for unique variance in several Axis I diagnoses above and beyond that accounted for by a general measure of current psychopathological symptoms. These results support the utility of the FFM of personality in Axis I diagnostic assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-sectional studies of personality in a national sample: II. Stability in neuroticism, extraversion, and openness.

Investigated age differences in neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study conducted by J. Cornoni-Huntley et al (1983). Cross-sectional analyses of data from 10,063 32–88 yr old Ss showed that older Ss were slightly lower in neuroticism, extraversion, and openness; that age trends were not curvilinear; and that there were no differences in personality scores that might be attributable to a mid-life crisis or transition. Comparison with data from 654 20–96 yr old Ss in the Augmented Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (ABLSA) showed that the ABLSA sample was lower in extraversion and higher in openness than the national sample, although the differences were small in magnitude. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related differences and change in positive and negative affect over 23 years.

Positive and negative affect, measured by the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale, were studied in a longitudinal sample spanning from 1971 to 1994. The sample (N?=?2,804) represented 4 generations of families. Linear trend analyses compared generations over time for positive and negative affect and also examined the possible influences of neuroticism and extraversion on initial levels of affect and patterns of change in affect. Negative affect decreased with age for all generations, although the rate was attenuated among the oldest adults. Higher neuroticism scores also attenuated the decrease in negative affect across time. For positive affect, the younger and middle-aged adults showed marked stability, but the older group evidenced a small decrease over time. Higher levels of extraversion were related to more stability in positive affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of social network and individual difference variables to loneliness.

179 undergraduates completed a social network list, an inventory of socially supportive behaviors, the Extraversion and Neuroticism scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Marlowe-Crown Social Desirability Scale, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Both social network variables and individual differences measures (extraversion, neuroticism, and self-disclosure) were predictive of self-reported loneliness in Ss. Of the social network variables, the density of the network showed the strongest and most consistent relation to loneliness, with denser networks being associated with less loneliness. Both extraversion and neuroticism were correlated with loneliness. The relation of extraversion and loneliness was mediated largely by social network variable; partialing out variance attributable to the social network variables reduced the relation of extraversion and loneliness. The relation of neuroticism and loneliness, however, was not mediated by social network variables. Results support W. H. Jones's (1982) conclusion that lonely college students are not necessarily socially isolated. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of eyelid conditioning to manifest anxiety, extraversion, and rigidity.

The performance of 100 male and 60 female college students in an eyelid conditioning situation was correlated with personality measures of anxiety, neuroticism, extraversion, and rigidity. As predicted by the writers' drive theory, scores on the (MA) scale and the Neuroticism scale of the Maudsley Personality Inventory were significantly related to performance (p     

Eyelid conditioning and personality: Positive results from nonpartisans.

79 undergraduates selected on the basis of either high- or low-response probability on the last 60 of 300 conditioning trials obtained significantly different scores on measures of manifest anxiety, extraversion, and neuroticism, and significant correlations occurred among these personality measures. The results are discussed in terms of the theoretical positions of Spence and Eysenck. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validation of optimism and pessimism in older men: Findings from the normative aging study.

Validation of M. F. Scheier and C. S. Carver's (1985) Life Orientation Test has identified associations between bipolar optimism and several external constructs. However, optimism and pessimism may not be bipolar, but rather separate constructs. Furthermore, these constructs may be indistinguishable from personality traits, such as neuroticism and extraversion. This study examined the associations of separate optimism and pessimism measures with self-reports of hassles, psychological symptoms, and illness severity, controlling for personality. Ss were 1,192 men from the Normative Aging Study. Findings suggest that optimism and pessimism are separate and that their relations to external criteria remain, although attenuated, when neuroticism and extraversion are controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)