Personality Traits Predict Long-Term Physical Health via Affect Reactivity to Daily Stressors

Researchers hypothesize that how people react to daily stressful events partly explains the relationship between personality and health, yet no study has examined longitudinal associations between these factors. The current study focused on the role of negative affect reactivity to daily stressful events as a mediating pathway between personality and physical health outcomes using three waves of data spanning 20 years from a nationwide probability sample of 1,176 adults. Results indicated that negative affect reactivity partially mediated personality and physical health. Wave 1 neuroticism was associated with greater negative affect reactivity at Wave 2, which predicted the development of chronic conditions and functional limitations at Wave 3. Higher conscientiousness at Wave 1 was associated with less negative affect reactivity at Wave 2, which predicted better physical health at Wave 3. These findings highlight the usefulness of using a daily-stress framework for understanding how personality impacts health over time, which has important implications for stress management and disease prevention.

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Work Title Personality Traits Predict Long-Term Physical Health via Affect Reactivity to Daily Stressors
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Kate A. Leger
  2. Nicholas A. Turiano
  3. William Bowling
  4. Jessica L. Burris
  5. David M. Almeida
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Psychological Science
Publication Date May 1, 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620980738
Deposited December 13, 2021

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added Preprint.docx
  • Added Creator Kate A. Leger
  • Added Creator Nicholas A. Turiano
  • Added Creator William Bowling
  • Added Creator Jessica L. Burris
  • Added Creator David M. Almeida
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated
  • Updated