Big five personality traits may inform public health policy and preventive medicine : evidence from a cross-sectional and a prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study in a Swiss community

Hengartner, Michael Pascal; Kawohl, Wolfram; Haker, Helene; Rössler, Wulf; Ajdacic-Gross, Vladeta

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Big five personality traits may inform public health policy and preventive medicine : evidence from a cross-sectional and a prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study in a Swiss community
Authors:	Hengartner, Michael Pascal Kawohl, Wolfram Haker, Helene Rössler, Wulf Ajdacic-Gross, Vladeta
DOI:	10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012
Published in:	Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume(Issue):	84
Page(s):	44
Pages to:	51
Issue Date:	2016
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0022-3999 1879-1360
Language:	English
Subjects:	Personality; Big five; Psychopathology; Epidemiology; Public health; Preventive medicine
Subject (DDC):	155: Differential and developmental psychology 610: Medicine and health
Abstract:	Background: Some evidence documents the importance of personality assessments for health research and practise. However, no study has opted to test whether a short self-report personality inventory may comprehensively inform health policy. Methods: Data were taken from a population-based epidemiologic survey in Zurich, Switzerland, conducted from 2010-2012. A short form of the Big Five Inventory was completed by n = 1155 participants (54.4% women; mean age = 29.6 years), while health-related outcomes were taken from a comprehensive semi-structured clinical interview. A convenience subsample averaging n = 171 participants additionally provided laboratory measures and n = 133 were subsequently followed-up at least once over a maximal period of 6 months. Results: Personality traits, in particular high neuroticism and low conscientiousness, related significantly to poor environmental resources such as low social support (R2 = 0.071), health-impairing behaviours such as cannabis use (R2 = 0.071), and psychopathology, including negative affect (R2 = 0.269) and various mental disorders (R2 = 0.060-0.195). The proportion of total variance explained was R2 = 0.339 in persons with three or more mental disorders. Personality significantly related to some laboratory measures including total cholesterol (R2 = 0.095) and C-Reactive Protein (R2 = 0.062). Finally, personality prospectively predicted global psychopathological distress and vegetative symptoms over a 6-month observation period. Conclusions: Personality relates consistently to poor socio-environmental resources, health-impairing behaviours and psychopathology. We also found some evidence for an association with metabolic and immune functions that are assumed to influence health. A short personality inventory could provide valuable information for preventive medicine when used as a means to screen entire populations for distinct risk exposure, in particular with respect to psychopathology.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/2267
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	Applied Psychology
Organisational Unit:	Psychological Institute (PI)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Angewandte Psychologie

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Hengartner, M. P., Kawohl, W., Haker, H., Rössler, W., & Ajdacic-Gross, V. (2016). Big five personality traits may inform public health policy and preventive medicine : evidence from a cross-sectional and a prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study in a Swiss community. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 84, 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012

Hengartner, M.P. et al. (2016) ‘Big five personality traits may inform public health policy and preventive medicine : evidence from a cross-sectional and a prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study in a Swiss community’, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 84, pp. 44–51. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012.

M. P. Hengartner, W. Kawohl, H. Haker, W. Rössler, and V. Ajdacic-Gross, “Big five personality traits may inform public health policy and preventive medicine : evidence from a cross-sectional and a prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study in a Swiss community,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 84, pp. 44–51, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012.

HENGARTNER, Michael Pascal, Wolfram KAWOHL, Helene HAKER, Wulf RÖSSLER und Vladeta AJDACIC-GROSS, 2016. Big five personality traits may inform public health policy and preventive medicine : evidence from a cross-sectional and a prospective longitudinal epidemiologic study in a Swiss community. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2016. Bd. 84, S. 44–51. DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012

Hengartner, Michael Pascal, Wolfram Kawohl, Helene Haker, Wulf Rössler, and Vladeta Ajdacic-Gross. 2016. “Big Five Personality Traits May Inform Public Health Policy and Preventive Medicine : Evidence from a Cross-Sectional and a Prospective Longitudinal Epidemiologic Study in a Swiss Community.” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 84: 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012.

Hengartner, Michael Pascal, et al. “Big Five Personality Traits May Inform Public Health Policy and Preventive Medicine : Evidence from a Cross-Sectional and a Prospective Longitudinal Epidemiologic Study in a Swiss Community.” Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 84, 2016, pp. 44–51, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.03.012.