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The Case for Conscientiousness: Evidence and Implications for a Personality Trait Marker of Health and Longevity

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Recent initiatives by major funding agencies have emphasized translational and personalized approaches (e.g., genetic testing) to health research and health management. While such directives are appropriate, and will likely produce tangible health benefits, we seek to highlight a confluence of several lines of research showing relations between the personality dimension of conscientiousness and a variety of health-related outcomes.

Methods

Using a modified health process model, we review the compelling evidence linking conscientiousness to health and disease processes, including longevity, diseases, morbidity-related risk factors, health-related psychophysiological mechanisms, health-related behaviors, and social environmental factors related to health.

Conclusion

We argue the accumulated evidence supports greater integration of conscientiousness into public health, epidemiological, and medical research, with the ultimate aim of understanding how facilitating more optimal trait standing might foster better health.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this article was supported, in part, by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant R00 AA017877 to T. Bogg, and National Institute on Aging grant R01 AG21178 to B. W. Roberts.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 5057 Woodward Ave., 7th Floor, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Tim Bogg Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Brent W. Roberts Ph.D.

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  1. Tim Bogg Ph.D.
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  2. Brent W. Roberts Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Tim Bogg Ph.D..

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Bogg, T., Roberts, B.W. The Case for Conscientiousness: Evidence and Implications for a Personality Trait Marker of Health and Longevity. ann. behav. med. 45, 278–288 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-012-9454-6

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