Personality Change Profiles and Changes in Cognition Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Testing of significant changes in big-five personality factors over time in the presence and absence of memory impairment and life-related stress

This study tests whether memory impairment and perceived increases in stress due to life changes independently contribute to similar personality changes, such as increased neuroticism and decreased conscientiousness. Longitudinal data from 12,912 participants aged 50+ from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2020) were analyzed using Latent Growth Curve Models (LGCMs). Six LGCMs were simultaneously estimated to examine how changes in personality across three data points spanning 8 years are predicted by both the classification of memory impairment (MI) statuses assessed via the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status and estimated increases in life stress. Decreases were observed in all Big Five personality factors (B =  - 0.240/- 0.510, SE = 0.085/0.089) over the 8-year period. No significant differences in personality changes were found between MI cases and non-MI cases. Increased life stress was significantly associated with a rise in neuroticism (B = 0.587, SE = 0.094) and reductions in conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness (B ranges from - 0.223 to - 0.497). The findings emphasize adaptive/developmental shifts in personality in response to life stress rather than neuropathological ones related to memory impairment. Clinical assessment of personality changes in mid-to-late life should first consider psychological maladaptation to situational threats and challenges.

Are trajectories of personality and socioeconomic factors prospectively associated with midlife cognitive function? Findings from a 12-year longitudinal study of Mexican-origin adults

Problems with memory, executive function, and language are a significant public health concern, especially when they begin during midlife. However, there is relatively little work on risk and protective factors for cognitive function in middle adulthood. Using data from 883 Mexican-origin adults assessed up to 6 times across 12 years (Mage at Time 1 = 38.2 years; range = 27-63 years), the present study examined whether developmental trajectories (levels and slopes) of Big Five personality domains and socioeconomic factors (per capita income, economic stress) were prospectively associated with cognitive function (memory, mental status, verbal fluency) at the final assessment. We found that individuals with higher levels of, and smaller decreases in, Neuroticism had worse cognitive function 12 years later. Further, individuals with higher initial Conscientiousness had better subsequent memory, mental status, and verbal fluency, and individuals with higher Openness and Extraversion had better subsequent verbal fluency (but not memory or mental status). The trajectories of per capita income and economic stress were robustly associated with cognitive function, such that higher initial levels and greater increases in socioeconomic resources had protective associations, whereas higher levels and greater increases in economic stress had deleterious associations with cognitive function. Higher education level was associated with better cognitive function 12 years later. These findings suggest that changes in personality and socioeconomic factors across adulthood are associated with cognitive function, which may be informative for interventions to support healthier cognitive aging starting at least as early as midlife. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Insights about personality traits and cognitive performance and decline in adults 51-59 Years old from the Wisconsin longitudinal study

OBJECTIVES

To delineate midlife personality dimensions of early cognitive change in an age-homogenous sample of U.S. older adults.

DESIGN

Longitudinal study of 6133 adults from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS).

MEASURES

Middle-aged participants (mean age = 53.2; SD = 0.6) from the WLS completed the 'Big-5' personality assessment in 1992. Mixed effects models examined whether midlife personality traits were associated with change in cognitive performance from participant's mid-60s (2004-2005) to early 70s (2011). The cognitive battery assessed abstract reasoning (AR), category fluency (CF), working memory (WM), and delayed verbal memory (DVM). Models adjusted for sex, education, and subjective health.

RESULTS

High Openness was a significant predictor of change in AR, CF, and DVM. These cognitive outcomes declined less among those with high Openness, but the effect sizes for Openness by time were small (R2 s < 0.01). AR and CF were characterized by higher overall performance with high Openness, but with relatively parallel change for the highest and lowest Openness quartiles. There was no advantage of Openness to DVM by the second assessment. High Conscientiousness was a predictor of more change for DVM, though the effect size was small (R 2  < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

None of the midlife personality traits were uniformly associated with change in cognitive performance in early older adulthood. High midlife Openness had the most noteworthy impact on cognition. Interventions designed to target Openness have potential to elevate and maintain a higher threshold of performance in some cognitive domains, but may only have a small impact on cognitive change.