July 25

Personality And Obesity Across The Adult Life Span

Obesity Personality Trackbacks (0)

Sutin, A. R., Ferrucci, L., Zonderman, A. B., & Terracciano, A. (2011, July 11). Personality and Obesity Across the Adult Life Span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0024286

Abstract:

Personality traits contribute to health outcomes, in part through their association with major controllable risk factors, such as obesity. Body weight, in turn, reflects our behaviors and lifestyle and contributes to the way we perceive ourselves and others. In this study, the authors use data from a large (N  1,988) longitudinal study that spanned more than 50 years to examine how personality traits are associated with multiple measures of adiposity and with fluctuations in body mass index (BMI). Using 14,531 anthropometric assessments, the authors modeled the trajectory of BMI across adulthood and tested whether personality predicted its rate of change. Measured concurrently, participants higher on Neuroticism or Extraversion or lower on Conscientiousness had higher BMI; these associations replicated across body fat, waist, and hip circumference. The strongest association was found for the impulsivity facet: Participants who scored in the top 10% of impulsivity weighed, on average, 11Kg more than those in the bottom 10%. Longitudinally, high Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness, and the facets of these traits related to difficulty with impulse control, were associated with weight fluctuations, measured as the variability in weight over time. Finally, low Agreeableness and impulsivity-related traits predicted a greater increase in BMI across the adult life span. BMI was mostly unrelated to change in personality traits. Personality traits are defined by cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns that likely contribute to unhealthy weight and difficulties with weight management. Such associations may elucidate the role of personality traits in disease progression and may help to design more effective interventions.

Keywords: obesity, body mass index, five-factor model, personality, weight gain
February 08

Borderline Personality Disorder, NHS Clinical Guideline

Psychiatry Personality Trackbacks (0)
Borderline personality disorder
This clinical guideline is for the NHS on the treatment and management of borderline personality disorder (BPD). It covers the care, treatment and support that people with borderline personality disorder should be offered. Access is provided to key documents for this guideline including full guidelines (in PDF), information for the public, and a quick reference guide. Published in January 2009 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/CG78
February 08

Antisocial Personality Disorder, An NHS Clinical Guideline

Psychiatry Personality Trackbacks (0)
Antisocial personality disorder
This clinical guideline is for the NHS on the treatment, management and prevention of antisocial personality disorder. It covers the care, treatment and support that people with antisocial personality disorder and their families or carers should be offered; and the care and treatment that children with conduct problems and their families or carers should be offered. Access is provided to key documents for this guideline including full guidelines (in PDF), information for the public, and a quick reference guide. Published in January 2009 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/CG77
February 11

Personality Traits: Economics And Psychology

Personality Trackbacks (0)

The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
Source: institute for the Study of Labor

This paper explores the interface between personality psychology and economics. We examine the predictive power of personality and the stability of personality traits over the life cycle. We develop simple analytical frameworks for interpreting the evidence in personality psychology and suggest promising avenues for future research.

+ Full Paper (PDF; 643 KB)

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