The effects of conscientiousness on the appraisals of daily stressors

Longitudinal links between early adolescent temperament and inflammation among young black adults

A large body of research demonstrates that inflammation is involved in physical health problems that cause substantial morbidity and early mortality. Given inflammation's role in the etiology of chronic diseases, pediatric scientists have begun to study childhood factors that presage elevation of inflammatory biomarkers later in life. The purpose of this study was to test hypotheses designed to determine whether early adolescent emotionally intense and low attention temperaments forecast (a) inflammation at ages 25 and 29 years and (b) worsening levels of inflammation between these two data points. Toward this end, 307 Black children from the rural southeastern United States participated in an 18-year longitudinal study (mean age at baseline, 11.2 years) to determine whether and how early adolescent's behavioral styles or emotionally intense and low attention temperaments may be associated with absolute and worsening levels of inflammation in young adulthood. When children were 11-13 years of age, different teachers at each age provided assessments of emotionally intense and low attention temperaments. Thus, multiple measures of the same temperament constructs were obtained across 3 years for each participant. At age 25, participants provided data on their self-regulation abilities. Peripheral blood was collected at ages 25 and 29 years from which inflammation was quantified, using soluble urokinase plasminogen activator (suPAR), the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL) IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Covariates associated with inflammation in prior studies were also assessed; these included socioeconomic risk, gender, cigarette smoking, body mass index (BMI), adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), depressive symptoms, and medication use. An early adolescent emotionally intense temperament was associated directly with higher suPAR and cytokine levels at age 29, and with worsening cytokine levels between ages 25 and 29. A low attention temperament was associated with suPAR levels at age 29. Collectively, these observations highlight pathways that could underlie health risks associated with early adolescent temperaments. The findings suggest that emotionally intense and low-attention early adolescent temperaments forecast higher and worsening inflammation levels across young adulthood.

The Big Five personality traits and allostatic load in middle to older adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Further understanding of the associations between personality traits and allostatic load (AL) may be important for predicting, addressing, and optimizing health outcomes. This review synthesized the existing literature reporting the association between the Big Five personality traits and AL in adults to identify the generalizability and robustness of relationships, potential mechanisms underlying the associations, and study characteristics that may be contributing to inconsistencies in the field. Published and unpublished empirical reports were included if at least one of the Big Five traits was examined and an AL index was constructed using at least two biomarkers in a sample of adults. The methodological plan and standardized coding guide were pre-registered and reported (https://osf.io/rxw5a). Based on 11 studies that met eligibility, meta-analysis of correlation coefficients indicated a small but significant positive association between neuroticism and AL, and small but significant inverse associations between both conscientiousness and openness with AL. This review identifies strengths and limitations within the field, as well as several avenues for future research.

The Stressful Personality: A Meta-Analytical Review of the Relation Between Personality and Stress

The current study presented the first meta-analytic review on the associations between the Big Five personality traits and stress measured under different conceptualizations (stressor exposure, psychological and physiological stress responses) using a total of 1,575 effect sizes drawn from 298 samples. Overall, neuroticism was found to be positively related to stress, whereas extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness were negatively linked to stress. When stress assessed under different conceptualizations was tested, only neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were related to stressor exposure. All of the Big Five personality traits were significantly associated with psychological stress perception, whereas the five personality traits showed weak to null associations with physiological stress response. Further moderation analyses suggested that the associations between personality traits and stress under different conceptualizations were also contingent upon different characteristics of stress, sample, study design, and measures. The results supported the important role of personality traits in individual differences in stress.

Pathways Linking the Big Five to Psychological Distress: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Stress Mindset and Coping Flexibility

Personality affects the vulnerability to the emotional symptoms of depression and anxiety. This study investigated whether stress mindset (general belief about the nature of stress) and coping flexibility (the ability to terminate ineffective coping strategies and adopt alternative ones) mediate the relations of the Big Five personality traits to psychological distress. A total of 260 undergraduate students (60.4% female) in Singapore completed self-reported questionnaires. A series of path analyses was performed. Firstly, a dual-pathway model of stress coping was established, which consisted of (a) a stress-threat-distress pathway where a stress-is-a-threat mindset mediated the association between stressful experiences and psychological distress and (b) a challenge-flexibility-enhancement pathway where coping flexibility mediated the relation of a stress-is-a-challenge mindset to a lower level of psychological distress, without being influenced by stressful experiences. Furthermore, Neuroticism was associated with the stress-threat-distress pathway, with stressful experiences and a stress-is-a-treat mindset mediating the relation of Neuroticism to psychological distress. Conscientiousness was associated with the challenge-flexibility-enhancement pathway, with a stress-is-a-challenge mindset and coping flexibility mediating the relation of Conscientiousness to less psychological distress. Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness were directly associated with greater coping flexibility. The findings enrich the literature on personality and stress coping and inform future interventions to promote mental health.

Individual stress response patterns: Preliminary findings and possible implications

BACKGROUND

Research on stress occupied a central position during the 20th century. As it became evident that stress responses affect a wide range of negative outcomes, various stress management techniques were developed in attempt to reduce the damages. However, the existing interventions are applied for a range of different stress responses, sometimes unsuccessfully.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine whether there are specific clusters of stress responses representing interpersonal variation. In other words, do people have dominant clusters reflecting the different aspects of the known stress responses (physiological, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive)?

METHODS

The researchers derived a measure of stress responses based on previous scales and used it in two studies in order to examine the hypothesis that stress responses can be grouped into dominant patterns according to the type of response.

RESULTS

The results of Study 1 revealed four distinctive response categories: psychological (emotional and cognitive), physiological gastro, physiological muscular, and behavioral. The results of Study 2 revealed five distinctive response categories: emotional, cognitive, physiological gastro, physiological muscular, and behavioral.

CONCLUSION

By taking into consideration each person's stress response profile while planning stress management interventions and then offering them a tailored intervention that reduces the intensity of these responses, it might be possible to prevent further complications resulting in a disease (physical or mental).

Personality traits, workers' age, and job satisfaction: The moderated effect of conscientiousness

Job satisfaction has gained increasing interest in the world of work and a vast field of research has been stimulated regarding its antecedents. Among these, personality traits have received consistent and significant attention, with a particular emphasis on conscientiousness. To delve deeper and detail these aspects, in the present research, a moderation model was hypothesized, with the aim of investigating the effect of age on the association between conscientiousness (and its subdimensions scrupulousness and perseverance) and job satisfaction. The age-moderated interactions of the other Big Five personality traits were also explored. The study involved 202 Italian workers (92 men, 110 women) with a mean age of 44.82 years (SD = 10.56) who completed the Big Five Questionnaire and the Job Satisfaction Scale. The results showed a positive association between conscientiousness and job satisfaction. This was moderated by age to the extent that it was significant for younger and average-age workers and was less significant for older workers. Similar results were found for the subdomain of perseverance, while the relationship between scrupulousness and job satisfaction was not significant. Furthermore, no age-moderated interaction between the other Big Five personality traits and Job satisfaction were found. Such data supports interactive models that highlight the need to integrate personality traits with other factors in exploring the antecedents of job satisfaction. These findings provide additional elements to an understanding of the factors contributing to workers satisfaction, and could have important applicative implications in a framework for healthy organizations and the well-being movement.

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.

The brief daily stressors screening tool: An introduction and evaluation

The present study introduces a short screening instrument for the measurement of experienced general daily stressors across different life domains that can be used in large-scale studies. The brief daily stressors screening tool (BDSST) assesses the experience of general daily stressors in eight distinct life domains. General daily stressors are indicated for the past 12-months on a five-point Likert scale. The present study evaluates the BDSST in two successive studies. The first study was conducted in a representative German sample (n = 7,849). The second study was conducted to assess one-month-retest-stability in another representative German sample (n = 1,294). The BDSST shows promising psychometric properties. It has a skewed positive distribution, internal consistency and stability are acceptable and its one-factor structure was confirmed in a bifactor confirmatory factor analysis. The BDSST is a reliable and valid short instrument for the assessment of experienced general daily stressors in large-scale studies and routine clinical practise. For in-depth clinical assessment, it can be used to identify relevant life domains for further investigation.

Facets of Conscientiousness and risk of dementia

BACKGROUND

Multiple studies have found Conscientiousness to be protective against dementia. The purpose of this study is to identify which specific aspects, or facets, of Conscientiousness are most protective against cognitive impairment and whether these associations are moderated by demographic factors and/or genetic risk.

METHODS

Health and Retirement Study participants were selected for analysis if they completed the facets of Conscientiousness measure, scored in the range of normal cognitive functioning at the baseline personality assessment, and had at least one follow-up assessment of cognition over the up to 6-year follow-up (N = 11 181). Cox regression was used to test for risk of incident dementia and risk of incident cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND).

RESULTS

Over the follow-up, 278 participants developed dementia and 2186 participants developed CIND. The facet of responsibility had the strongest and most consistent association with dementia risk: every standard deviation increase in this facet was associated with a nearly 35% decreased risk of dementia; self-control and industriousness were also protective. Associations were generally similar when controlling for clinical, behavioral, and genetic risk factors. These three facets were also independent predictors of decreased risk of CIND.

CONCLUSIONS

The present research indicates that individuals who see themselves as responsible, able to control their behavior, and hard workers are less likely to develop CIND or dementia and that these associations persist after accounting for some common clinical, behavioral, and genetic risk factors.

Interactive Effects of Trait Self-Control and Stress Appraisals on Blood Pressure Responses to a Laboratory Stressor

Purpose

Stress may play a role in explaining part of the conscientiousness-longevity relationship. Conscientiousness (C) is associated with the appraisals of stressors and its lower-order facets have been shown to differentially moderate the experience of stress in daily life. This study investigated whether the lower-order facet, self-control (SC), moderated the relationship between stress appraisals and blood pressure responses to a laboratory stressor.

Methods

Ninety participants (selected from the upper and lower quartiles for C scores from a sample of 679 participants) were invited to complete the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were assessed throughout the stress task. Stress appraisals were assessed at baseline.

Results

Blood pressure responses to the MAST were similar in participants who scored high and low in SC. However, primary appraisals were negatively associated with BP reactivity and recovery in the high SC group but not in the low SC group. Moreover, SC was found to moderate the relationship between primary appraisals and SBP and DBP reactivity values, such that higher primary appraisals were associated with lower BP reactivity in individuals high in SC but not in those low in SC. In addition, lower SBP recovery values were observed in the high SC group compared to their low SC counterparts.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that SC may influence health status by modifying the relationship between perceived demands and blood pressure. Moreover, having a greater stake in stressors may yield health benefits in the longer term for individuals high in SC.

Personality and stressor-related affect

Greater increases in negative affect and greater decreases in positive affect on days stressors occur portend poorer mental and physical health years later. Although personality traits influence stressor-related affect, only neuroticism and extraversion among the Big Five personality traits have been examined in any detail. Moreover, personality traits may shape how people appraise daily stressors, yet few studies have examined how stressor-related appraisals may account for associations between personality and stressor-related affect. Two studies used participants (N = 2,022; age range: 30-84) from the National Study of Daily Experiences II to examine the associations between Big Five personality traits and stressor-related affect and how appraisals may account for these relationships. Results from Study 1 indicate that higher levels of extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience and lower levels of neuroticism are related to less stressor-related negative affect. Only agreeableness was associated with stressor-related positive affect, such that higher levels were related to greater decreases in positive affect on days stressors occur. The second study found that stressor-related appraisals partially accounted for the significant associations between stressor-related negative affect and personality. Implications for these findings in relation to how personality may influence physical and emotional health are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Daily hassles, their antecedents and outcomes among professional first responders: A systematic literature review

Occupational groups such as firefighters, military officers, paramedics and police officers are exposed to a combination of acute, severe and accumulated everyday stress. Drawing on the daily hassles perspective on stress, the aim was to synthesize existing research on daily hassles in professional first responder settings into a theoretical model. A systematic mixed studies review with an integrated design was undertaken. The selection process resulted in 40 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The selected papers represented two literature reviews, one qualitative study, eight longitudinal studies and 29 cross-sectional studies. Five superior categories emerged in the analysis: Individual antecedent and continuously framing factors, Environmental antecedent and continuously framing factors, Appraisal and coping processes, Daily hassles and Outcome. Suggestions for future research are presented.

Conscientiousness and fruit and vegetable consumption: exploring behavioural intention as a mediator

Clear associations have emerged between conscientiousness and health behaviours, such that higher levels of conscientiousness are predictive of beneficial health behaviours. This study investigated the conscientiousness-fruit and vegetable consumption relationship and whether behavioural intention mediated this relationship. A large sample of adults (N = 2136) completed an online battery of questionnaires measuring conscientiousness, behavioural intentions to consume fruit and vegetables, together with self-reported behaviour. Correlation analysis revealed that conscientiousness and each of its facets were positively associated with behavioural intention and self-reported behaviour. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that after controlling for age, gender and education, total conscientiousness, and the facets of responsibility, industriousness, order and virtue predicted self-reported behaviour. Further analysis revealed that in line with the Theory of Planned Behaviour, behavioural intention fully mediated the conscientiousness-fruit and vegetable behaviour relationship. In conclusion, low levels of conscientiousness were found to be associated with lower fruit and vegetable intentions, with the latter also associated with fruit and vegetable consumption.

The Chernyshenko Conscientiousness Scales

The current research sought to validate the Chernyshenko Conscientiousness Scales (CCS), a novel measure designed to assess six facets of conscientiousness. Data from 7,569 U.S. participants and 649 U.K. participants were analyzed to assess the internal reliability and factorial structure of the scales. Test–retest reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and criterion-related validity were also evaluated using a separate U.K. sample ( n = 118; n = 80 for test–retest). The results showed that those items designed to measure industriousness, order, self-control, traditionalism, and virtue were best represented by a five-factor structure, broadly consistent with the five scales. However, the content and structure of the responsibility scale requires further investigation. Overall, the CCS has the potential to be a useful alternative to the faceted measures of conscientiousness that are currently available. However, future research is required to refine a number of problematic items and to clarify which facets can be better described as interstitial dimensions between conscientiousness and other Big Five domains.

Exploring day-to-day dynamics of daily stressor appraisals, physical symptoms and the cortisol awakening response

Stress is associated with the secretion of cortisol throughout the day, but less is known about the dynamic effects of stress on the cortisol awakening response (CAR). More widely, knowledge of the causal factors and functions of the CAR are also not fully understood. This study explored: (1) the effects of daily stressors on the next day CAR and; (2) the effects of the CAR on same day physical and affective outcomes. Sixty-four participants completed a daily diary, reporting on the occurrence of daily stressors and stress appraisals, physical symptoms, and affect. Cortisol was measured at 0, 15, 30, and 45 min after awakening to provide measures of the CAR on 3 consecutive work days. Stress appraisal was found to negatively predict the CAR, such that where stressors were appraised as more stressful (where perceived demands exceeded resources), the CAR increased less the following morning. Furthermore, the CAR significantly predicted same-day physical symptoms such that a lower CAR was associated with more physical symptoms. This study provides evidence for a pathway through which daily stressors may influence physical wellbeing, and highlights the importance of appraisals for future stress-based cortisol research.

Investigating the effects of conscientiousness on daily stress, affect and physical symptom processes: a daily diary study

OBJECTIVES

Higher conscientiousness (C) predicts better health outcomes. Recent research suggests that stress may play an important role in explaining this relationship. The current study aimed to establish whether C moderates the relationship between daily hassle appraisals, daily affect, and physical symptoms.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A daily diary design was used, where participants (N = 103) completed a baseline measure of C followed by a 14-day daily diary, providing daily details of hassles (primary and secondary appraisals) experienced as well as positive and negative affect and physical symptoms.

RESULTS

Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that Total C (as well as two facets of C: Order and Industriousness) moderated the relationship between stress appraisals and positive affect. Specifically, the negative association between the daily appraisal of hassles as stressful (i.e., where perceived demands outweighed perceived resources) and positive affect was stronger for lower and average levels of C, Order, and Industriousness. No significant moderated effects were found for negative affect or physical symptoms. The Order facet was also found to be an important factor predicting attrition.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study provided evidence that C and two of its facets can moderate the relationship between hassle appraisal and positive affect. C may exert part of its influence on health by modifying the effects of daily stressors.

STATEMENT OF CONTRIBUTION

What is already known on this subject? Conscientiousness has a significant positive effect on longevity and health status. While the performance of health behaviours may partially account for this relationship, evidence suggests that it does not fully mediate the effect. Research has begun to look at stress as a possible additional explanatory variable, and there is evidence that Conscientiousness moderates the relationship between stress and health behaviours. What does this study add? Shows that Conscientiousness and two of its facets (Order and Industriousness) moderate the relationship between hassle appraisal and positive affect. Highlights the importance of studying lower order facets of personality in health research. Suggests that Conscientiousness may exert part of its influence on health by modifying the effects of daily stressors.