Personality traits and preventive cancer screenings in the Health Retirement Study

The Five-Factor model of personality has been associated with a wide range of health behaviors and health outcomes. However, few studies have examined whether personality traits are related to cancer screening in older adults. The present study investigated the cross-sectional associations between p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Preventive medicine 2019-09, Vol.126, p.105763-105763, Article 105763
Main Authors: Aschwanden, Damaris, Gerend, Mary A., Luchetti, Martina, Stephan, Yannick, Sutin, Angelina R., Terracciano, Antonio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Early Detection of Cancer - psychology
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - diagnosis
Neoplasms - psychology
Older age
Personality
Personality Inventory
Preventive cancer screenings
Retirement
Sex Distribution
United States
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Summary:The Five-Factor model of personality has been associated with a wide range of health behaviors and health outcomes. However, few studies have examined whether personality traits are related to cancer screening in older adults. The present study investigated the cross-sectional associations between personality traits and the probability of obtaining a recent preventive screening for breast, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer. Participants from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 14,394, Mage = 68.14 years, range = 50–102 years, 58.6% female) completed a personality inventory and reported on cancer screenings in the 2010–2012 assessment. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the data, including age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, income, and wealth as covariates. Higher conscientiousness was associated with a higher likelihood of obtaining breast, cervical, and prostate screening. Higher extraversion was related to higher odds of breast, cervical, and colorectal screening. Higher neuroticism was linked to higher odds of colorectal screening, and conscientiousness moderated the link between neuroticism and cervical screening. These associations were significant in models that accounted for demographic and socioeconomic factors. The effect sizes were in the range of a 10–20% higher likelihood of cancer screening for 1 SD difference in personality. The present findings suggest that conscientiousness and extraversion were related to preventive cancer screenings, whereas neuroticism, openness and agreeableness were largely unrelated to the likelihood of such screenings. If these results are further replicated, health policy makers may consider personality traits when planning and implementing screening recommendations to improve preventive medicine.
ISSN:0091-7435
1096-0260
DOI:10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105763