Abstract

Objectives

Theory suggests that individuals with higher neuroticism have more severe negative reactions to stress, though empirical work examining the interaction between neuroticism and stressors has yielded mixed results. The present study investigated whether neuroticism and other Big Five traits moderated the effects of recent stressful life events on older adults’ health outcomes.

Method

Data were drawn from the subset of Health and Retirement Study participants who completed a Big Five personality measure (N = 14,418). We used latent growth curve models to estimate trajectories of change in depressive symptoms, self-rated physical health, and C-reactive protein levels over the course of 10 years (up to six waves). We included Big Five traits and stressful life events as covariates to test their effects on each of these three health outcomes. We examined stressful life events within domains of family, work/finances, home, and health, as well as a total count across all event types.

Results

Big Five traits and stressful life events were independently related to depressive symptoms and self-rated health. There were no significant interactions between Big Five traits and stressful life events. C-reactive protein levels were unrelated to Big Five traits and stressful life events.

Discussion

Findings suggest that personality and stressful life events are important predictors of health outcomes. However, we found little evidence that personality moderates the effect of major stressful events across a 2-year time frame. Any heightened reactivity related to high neuroticism may be time-limited to the months immediately after a major stressful event.

中文翻译：

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五种人格特质是否会减轻压力性生活事件对健康轨迹的影响？来自健康和退休研究的证据。

摘要

目标

理论表明，尽管研究神经质和压力源之间相互作用的实证研究得出了不同的结果，但具有较高神经质的人对压力的负面反应更为严重。本研究调查了神经质和其他五种特质是否缓解了近期压力性生活事件对老年人健康结局的影响。

方法

数据来自健康和退休研究参与者的子集，这些参与者完成了五项人格测量（N = 14,418）。我们使用了潜在的生长曲线模型来估计在10年的过程中（最多6次波动）抑郁症状，自我评估的身体健康状况和C反应蛋白水平的变化轨迹。我们将五项特质和压力性生活事件作为协变量，以测试它们对这三种健康结果的影响。我们检查了家庭，工作/财务，家庭和健康领域内的紧张生活事件，以及所有事件类型的总数。

结果

五项特质和压力性生活事件与抑郁症状和自我评估的健康状况独立相关。五大特质与压力性生活事件之间没有显着的相互作用。C反应蛋白水平与五种性状和压力性生活事件无关。

讨论区

研究结果表明，性格和压力性生活事件是健康结果的重要预测指标。但是，我们发现几乎没有证据表明人格能够在2年的时间范围内缓解重大压力事件的影响。与高度神经质有关的任何增强的反应性都可能在主要压力事件发生后的几个月内有时间限制。