Unpacking the relationship between Big Five personality traits and experimental pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Pain is essential for survival, but individual responses to painful stimuli vary, representing a complex interplay between sensory, cognitive, and affective factors. Individual differences in personality traits and in pain perception covary but it is unclear which traits play the most significant role in understanding the pain experience and whether this depends on pain modality. A systematic search identified 1534 records (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, PubMed and Web of Science), of which 22 were retained and included in a systematic review. Only studies from the pressure pain domain (n=6) could be compared in a formal meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between Big Five traits and experimental pain. Pressure pain tolerance correlated positively with Extraversion and negatively with Neuroticism with a trivial effect size (<0.1). While these findings suggest personality might be only weakly related to pain in healthy individuals, we emphasize the need to consider standardization, biases, and adequate sample sizes in future research, as well as additional factors that might affect experimental pain sensitivity.

Diurnal cortisol measures are distinctively associated with evaluation of neuroticism by self and others.

The link between neuroticism and the various indicators of daily cortisol fluctuations is frequently noted to be inconsistent or lacking in strength. The current study aimed to investigate the predictive capacity of both self-assessment and external evaluations of neuroticism, along with their interaction, on multiple indices of diurnal cortisol variations. This research involved the assessment of neuroticism using self-report and external evaluations among 166 working individuals, coupled with the collection of saliva samples over two consecutive workdays. Employing multilevel response surface analysis, our findings indicated that self-reported neuroticism exhibited a stronger association with cortisol indices compared to external evaluations. Additionally, the level of alignment between self-assessment and external ratings of neuroticism specifically impacted the prediction of estimates of daily cortisol production. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results.

Emotional (in)stability: Neuroticism is associated with increased variability in negative emotion after all.

The personality trait neuroticism is tightly linked to mental health, and neurotic people experience stronger negative emotions in everyday life. But, do their negative emotions also show greater fluctuation? This commonsensical notion was recently questioned by [Kalokerinos et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112, 15838-15843 (2020)], who suggested that the associations found in previous studies were spurious. Less neurotic people often report very low levels of negative emotion, which is usually measured with bounded rating scales. Therefore, they often pick the lowest possible response option, which severely constrains the amount of emotional variability that can be observed in principle. Applying a multistep statistical procedure that is supposed to correct for this dependency, [Kalokerinos et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112, 15838-15843 (2020)] no longer found an association between neuroticism and emotional variability. However, like other common approaches for controlling for undesirable effects due to bounded scales, this method is opaque with respect to the assumed mechanism of data generation and might not result in a successful correction. We thus suggest an alternative approach that a) takes into account that emotional states outside of the scale bounds can occur and b) models associations between neuroticism and both the mean and variability of emotion in a single step with the help of Bayesian censored location-scale models. Simulations supported this model over alternative approaches. We analyzed 13 longitudinal datasets (2,518 individuals and 11,170 measurements in total) and found clear evidence that more neurotic people experience greater variability in negative emotion.

Emotional dysregulation, alexithymia and neuroticism: a systematic review on the genetic basis of a subset of psychological traits.

Neuroticism, alexithymia and emotion dysregulation are key traits and known risk factors for several psychiatric conditions. In this systematic review, the aim is to evaluate the genetic contribution to these psychological phenotypes. A systematic review of articles found in PubMed was conducted. Search terms included 'genetic', 'GWAS', 'neuroticism', 'alexithymia' and 'emotion dysregulation'. Risk of bias was assessed utilizing the STREGA checklist. Two hundred two papers were selected from existing literature based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among these, 27 were genome-wide studies and 175 were genetic association studies. Single gene association studies focused on selected groups of genes, mostly involved in neurotransmission, with conflicting results. GWAS studies on neuroticism, on the other hand, found several relevant and replicated intergenic and intronic loci affecting the expression and regulation of crucial and well-known genes (such as DRD2 and CRHR1). Mutations in genes coding for trascriptional factors were also found to be associated with neuroticism (DCC, XKR6, TCF4, RBFOX1), as well as a noncoding regulatory RNA (LINC00461). On the other hand, little GWAS data are available on alexythima and emotional dysregulation.

Relationship between self-reported health and neuroticism in older adults: a scoping review / Relação entre saúde autorreferida e neuroticismo em idosos: uma revisão de escopo

This scoping review aims to identify and map the existing literature regarding the relationship between neuroticism and self-reported health in community-dwelling older adults. We adopted the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis recommendations and followed the PRISMA-SCr when reporting it. The search was performed on ten different databases, including: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane, Embase, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, United States National Library of Medicine, Scopus, Web of Science, Ageline and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde/Centro Latino-Americano e do Caribe de Informação em Ciências da Saúde databases until February 2021. Data screening and extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. We included primary studies with older adults (≥60 years) [participants] that adopted validated instruments to assess neuroticism and self-reported health [concept] in the community [context], published in Portuguese, English, or Spanish. We identified 3453 articles and included 15 studies in this review. We extracted the main categories of included studies, characteristics of the participants, methodological issues, and biopsychosocial factors. Outcomes were reported in three sections: Focus of studies; Definitions and measures of neuroticism and self-reported health; Associations with biopsychosocial factors. We found an association between high neuroticism and poor self-reported health. Some biopsychosocial factors may influence this relationship, such as chronic diseases, depression, social support, and a sense of control, which must be considered in future studies to shed light on this topic

Esta revisão de escopo tem como objetivo identificar e mapear a literatura existente sobre a relação entre neuroticismo e saúde autorreferida em idosos vivendo na comunidade. Adotamos as recomendações do Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis e seguimos o PRISMA-SCr ao reportá-lo. A busca foi realizada em dez bases de dados diferentes, incluindo: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane, Embase, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, United States National Library of Medicine, Scopus, Web of Science, Ageline e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde/Centro Latino -Americano e do Caribe de Informação em Ciências da Saúde até fevereiro de 2021. A triagem e extração dos dados foram realizadas por dois revisores independentes. Incluímos estudos primários com idosos (≥60 anos) [participantes] que adotaram instrumentos validados para avaliar neuroticismo e saúde autorreferida [conceito] na comunidade [contexto], publicados em português, inglês ou espanhol. Identificamos 3.453 artigos e incluímos 15 estudos nesta revisão. Extraímos as principais categorias dos estudos incluídos, características dos participantes, questões metodológicas e fatores biopsicossociais. Os resultados foram relatados em três seções: Foco dos estudos; Definições e medidas de neuroticismo e autoavaliação de saúde; Associações com fatores biopsicossociais. Encontramos uma associação entre alto neuroticismo e má saúde autorrelatada. Alguns fatores biopsicossociais podem influenciar nessa relação, como doenças crônicas, depressão, suporte social e senso de controle, que devem ser considerados em estudos futuros para elucidar esse tema

Role of neuroticism and perceived stress on quality of life among patients with dry eye disease.

This hospital-based, cross-sectional observational study aimed to examine whether neuroticism has an impact on stress that is related to dry eye disease (DED) and quality of life (QOL). One hundred participants who had DED completed the Dry Eye-Related Quality-of-Life Score (DEQS) questionnaire, a 5-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L), Neuroticism Inventory (NI), and 10-Item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Hierarchical linear regression was applied to determine the predictive effect of the independent variables. Participants' mean age was 50.91 ± 14.3 years, and females totalled 89.0%. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that DESQ-Ocular symptoms were the strongest predictor for QOL either assessed by DEQS or EQ-5D, and its effect was lessened when perceived stress and neuroticism were added to the model. The final model explained up to 30-39% variance of the QOL, compared with 13-32% by DESQ-Ocular symptoms alone. QOL of the patients with DED, is not only related to eye symptoms but perceived stress. Moreover, neuroticism was a strong predictor contributing to the QOL among patients with DED. The study showed a significant association between perceived stress, neuroticism and the QOL of patients with DED. Personality has some impact on both subjective dry eye symptoms and impact on daily life, along with the general health-related QOL.

Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: A mega-meta path analysis.

This study examines the mediating role of work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict between the Big Five personality traits and mental health thereby enhancing theoretical development based upon empirical evidence. Integrating Conservation of Resources theory with the self-medication hypothesis, we conducted a mega-meta analytic path analysis examining the relationships among employees' Big Five traits, work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, anxiety and depression, and substance use. We produced a ten-by-ten synthetic correlation matrix from existing meta-analytic bivariate relationships to test our sequential mediation model. Results from our path analysis model showed that agreeableness and conscientiousness predicted substance use via mediated paths through both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict and sequentially through depression as well as through family-to-work conflict followed by anxiety. Extroversion and openness-to-experience had relatively weaker influences on substance use through work-to-family conflict, anxiety, and depression. Neuroticism was the strongest driver of the two forms of conflict, the two mental health conditions, and substance use. From this model it can be inferred that work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict may be generative mechanisms by which the impact of personality is transmitted to mental health outcomes and then to substance use when analyzed via a Conservation of Resources theory lens.

Untangling the tingle: Investigating the association between the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), neuroticism, and trait & state anxiety.

The Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is an intensely pleasant tingling sensation originating in the scalp and neck and is elicited by a range of online video-induced triggers. Many individuals now regularly watch ASMR videos to relax, and alleviate symptoms of stress and insomnia, all which are indicative of elevated levels of anxiety. Emerging literature suggests that ASMR-capable individuals are characterised by high trait neuroticism, which is associated with a tendency to experience negative emotional states such as anxiety. To date however no literature has empirically linked these personality constructs and watching ASMR videos on the effect of reducing anxiety. In the current study, 36 ASMR-experiencers and 28 non-experiencers watched an ASMR video, and completed assessments of neuroticism, trait anxiety, and pre- / post-video state anxiety. MANCOVA with Group as the independent measures factor showed that ASMR-experiencers had significantly greater scores for neuroticism, trait anxiety, and video engagement than non-experiencers. Pre-video state anxiety was also significantly greater in the ASMR-experiencers and was significantly attenuated on exposure to the ASMR video, whereas non-experiencers reported no difference in state anxiety pre- and post-video. Thus, watching ASMR alleviated state anxiety but only in those who experienced ASMR. Subsequent mediation analyses identified the importance of pre-existing group differences in neuroticism, trait and (pre-video) state anxiety in accounting for the group difference in the reduction of state anxiety. The mediation analysis further lends support for watching ASMR videos as an intervention for the reduction of acute state anxiety. Future areas for research are discussed.

Empirical evidence for robust personality-gaming disorder associations from a large-scale international investigation applying the APA and WHO frameworks.

Disordered gaming has gained increased medical attention and was recently included in the eleventh International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO) after its earlier inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth revision) (DSM-5) as an emerging disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Although many studies have investigated associations between personality and disordered gaming, no previous research compared the differential associations between personality and disordered gaming with time spent gaming. Due to the novelty of the WHO diagnostic framework for disordered gaming, previous research focused mainly on the associations between personality and disordered gaming in relation to the APA framework. Beyond that, these studies are generally limited by small sample sizes and/or the lack of cross-cultural emphasis due to single-country sampling. To address these limitations, the present study aimed to investigate the associations between personality and gaming behavior in a large and culturally heterogeneous sample (N = 50,925) of individuals from 150 countries. The results obtained suggested that low conscientiousness and high neuroticism were robustly associated with disordered gaming across both the APA and WHO frameworks. Interestingly, personality associations with weekly time spent gaming were smaller. The findings of the present study suggest that personality is of higher importance to predict disordered gaming compared to weekly time spent gaming.

Personality, subjective well-being, and the serotonin 1a receptor gene in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

Studies of personality traits in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) indicate that there are five or six constructs-Sociability, Dominance, Neuroticism, Openness, and two related to Conscientiousness. The present study attempted to determine whether our earlier study of laboratory-housed individuals only yielded three-Dominance, Sociability, and Neuroticism-because of a low amount of between-subjects variance. To do so, we increased our sample size from 77 to 128. In addition, we ascertained the reliability and validity of ratings and whether polymorphisms related to the serotonin 1a receptor were associated with personality. We found Sociability, Dominance, and Negative Affect factors that resembled three domains found in previous studies, including ours. We also found an Openness and Impulsiveness factor, the latter of which bore some resemblance to Conscientiousness, and two higher-order factors, Pro-sociality and Boldness. In further analyses, we could not exclude the possibility that Pro-sociality and Boldness represented a higher-level of personality organization. Correlations between personality factors and well-being were consistent with the definitions of the factors. There were no significant associations between personality and genotype. These results suggest that common marmoset personality structure varies as a function of rearing or housing variables that have not yet been investigated systematically.

Brain structural connectivity, anhedonia, and phenotypes of major depressive disorder: A structural equation model approach.

Aberrant brain structural connectivity in major depressive disorder (MDD) has been repeatedly reported, yet many previous studies lack integration of different features of MDD with structural connectivity in multivariate modeling approaches. In n = 595 MDD patients, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the intercorrelations between anhedonia, anxiety, neuroticism, and cognitive control in one comprehensive model. We then separately analyzed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) connectivity measures in association with those clinical variables, and finally integrated brain connectivity associations, clinical/cognitive variables into a multivariate SEM. We first confirmed our clinical/cognitive SEM. DTI analyses (FWE-corrected) showed a positive correlation of anhedonia with fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) and forceps minor/corpus callosum, while neuroticism was negatively correlated with axial diffusivity (AD) in the left uncinate fasciculus (UF) and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF). An extended SEM confirmed the associations of ATR FA with anhedonia and UF/IFOF AD with neuroticism impacting on cognitive control. Our findings provide evidence for a differential impact of state and trait variables of MDD on brain connectivity and cognition. The multivariate approach shows feasibility of explaining heterogeneity within MDD and tracks this to specific brain circuits, thus adding to better understanding of heterogeneity on the biological level.

How personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion predict the effects of the COVID-19 on the mental health of Canadians.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) epidemic was first detected in China in December 2019 and spread to other countries fast. Some studies have found that COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse mental health consequences. Individual differences such as personality could contribute to people's behaviors during a pandemic. In the current study, we examine how personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion (using the Five-Factor Model as our framework) are related to the mental health of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from an online survey with 1096 responses, this study performed multiple regression analysis to explore how personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion predict the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of Canadians. The results showed that personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion are associated with the current mental health of Canadians during COVID-19 pandemic, with extroversion positively related to mental health and neuroticism negatively related to it. Results contribute to the management of individual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and could help public health services provide personality-appropriate mental health services during this pandemic.

Symptom-level modelling unravels the shared genetic architecture of anxiety and depression.

Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent and comorbid psychiatric traits that cause considerable burden worldwide. Here we use factor analysis and genomic structural equation modelling to investigate the genetic factor structure underlying 28 items assessing depression, anxiety and neuroticism, a closely related personality trait. Symptoms of depression and anxiety loaded on two distinct, although highly genetically correlated factors, and neuroticism items were partitioned between them. We used this factor structure to conduct genome-wide association analyses on latent factors of depressive symptoms (89 independent variants, 61 genomic loci) and anxiety symptoms (102 variants, 73 loci) in the UK Biobank. Of these associated variants, 72% and 78%, respectively, replicated in an independent cohort of approximately 1.9 million individuals with self-reported diagnosis of depression and anxiety. We use these results to characterize shared and trait-specific genetic associations. Our findings provide insight into the genetic architecture of depression and anxiety and comorbidity between them.

Resilience matters: Explaining the association between personality and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic / La resiliencia importa: explicación de la asociación entre personalidad y funcionamiento psicológico durante la pandemia de COVID-19

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to elucidate the underlying mechanism through which basic personality dimensions predict indicators of psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including subjective well-being and perceived stress. As a personality characteristic highly contextualized in stressful circumstances, resilience was expected to have a mediating role in this relationship. METHOD: A sample of 2,722 Slovene adults, aged from 18 to 82 years filled in the Big Five Inventory, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Mental Health Continuum. A path analysis with the Bootstrap estimation procedure was performed to evaluate the mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between personality and psychological functioning. RESULTS: Resilience fully or partially mediated the relationships between all the Big Five but extraversion with subjective well-being and stress experienced at the beginning of the COVID-19 outburst. Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of less adaptive psychological functioning both directly and through diminished resilience. CONCLUSIONS: Resilience may be a major protective factor required for an adaptive response of an individual in stressful situations such as pandemic and the associated lockdown

ANTECEDENTES/OBJETIVO: El objetivo fue dilucidar el mecanismo subyacente a través del cual las dimensiones básicas de la personalidad predicen indicadores del funcionamiento psicológico durante la pandemia de COVID-19, incluido el bienestar subjetivo y el estrés percibido. Como característica de la personalidad altamente contextualizada en circunstancias estresantes, se esperaba que la resiliencia tuviera un papel mediador en esta relación. MÉTODO: Una muestra de 2.722 adultos eslovenos (18-82 años), completó el Big Five Inventory, la Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, la Perceived Stress Scale y el Mental Health Continuum. Se realizó un análisis de ruta con el procedimiento de estimación Bootstrap para evaluar el efecto mediador de la resiliencia en la relación entre la personalidad y el funcionamiento psicológico. RESULTADOS: La resiliencia medió total o parcialmente las relaciones entre los Cinco Grandes, y la extraversión con bienestar subjetivo y el estrés experimentado, al comienzo del estallido de COVID-19. El neuroticismo fue el predictor más fuerte de un funcionamiento psicológico menos adaptativo, tanto directamente como a través de la disminución de la capacidad de resiliencia. CONCLUSIONES: La resiliencia puede ser un factor de protección importante y requerido para una respuesta adaptativa de un individuo en situaciones estresantes como la pandemia y el confinamiento asociado

Causal Effects of Positive Affect, Life Satisfaction, Depressive Symptoms, and Neuroticism on Kidney Function: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

BACKGROUND: Further investigation of the causal effects of psychologic wellbeing on kidney function is warranted. METHODS: In this Mendelian randomization (MR) study, genetic instruments for positive affect, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism were introduced from a previous genome-wide association study meta-analysis of European individuals. Summary-level MR was performed using the CKDGen data of European ancestry (n=567,460), and additional allele score-based MR was performed in the individual-level data of White British UK Biobank participants (n=321,024). RESULTS: In summary-level MR with the CKDGen data, depressive symptoms were a significant causative factor for kidney function impairment (CKD OR, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.96; eGFR change [%] beta -2.18; 95% confidence interval, -3.61 to -0.72) and pleiotropy-robust sensitivity analysis results supported the causal estimates. A genetic predisposition for positive affect was significantly associated with better kidney function (CKD OR, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.52 to 0.91), eGFR change [%] beta 1.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.09 to 2.93) and sensitivity MR analysis results supported the finding for CKD outcome, but was nonsignificant for eGFR. Life satisfaction and neuroticism exposures showed nonsignificant causal estimates. In the UK Biobank with covariate-adjusted allele score MR analysis, allele scores for positive affect and life satisfaction were causally associated with reduced risk of CKD and higher eGFR. In contrast, neuroticism allele score was associated with increased risk of CKD and lower eGFR, and depressive symptoms allele score was associated with lower eGFR, but showed nonsignificant association with CKD. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers in the nephrology field should be aware of the causal linkage between psychologic wellbeing and kidney function.

Emotional stability is related to 2D:4D and social desirability in women: Possible implications on subjective well-being and psychopathology.

Emotional stability-Neuroticism is a complex construct influenced by genetics and environmental factors. Women tend to exhibit higher neuroticism scores than men, which may be associated with an increased risk of suffering from some common mental conditions. Some authors have pointed out the influence of sex hormones, since they induce sexual differentiation of the brain that can lead to sex-specific behaviors. 2D:4D digit ratio is commonly used as a marker of prenatal sex hormones. In this study we analyzed whether there was an association between 2D:4D and personality measured through the BFQ in a homogeneous sample of 101 young women college students. We found a positive association between 2D:4D and emotional stability, as well as with its subdimensions emotion control and impulse control. This association could be quadratic and nonlinear. However, no association was found with the other four dimensions. We also measured anxiety, depression and global life satisfaction, variables related to neuroticism. We observed that emotional stability is positively associated to social desirability and global life satisfaction, and negatively related to anxiety and depression. On the other hand, we did not find any association between 2D:4D and anxiety, depression, and global life satisfaction. These results can be linked to other aspects such as subjective well-being and psychopathological symptoms. This study may help to better understand how these constructs are related and could lead to future projects to elucidated how these variables influence personality.

Neuroticism and reward-related ventral striatum activity: Probing vulnerability to stress-related depression.

Elevated neuroticism may confer vulnerability to the depressogenic effects of stressful life events (SLEs). However, the mechanisms underlying this susceptibility remain poorly understood. Accumulating evidence suggests that stress-related disruptions in neural reward processing might undergird links between stress and depression. Using data from the Saint Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) study and Duke Neurogenetics Study (DNS), we examined whether neuroticism moderates links between stressful life events (SLE) and depression as well as SLEs and ventral striatum (VS) response to reward. In the longitudinal SPAN sample (n = 971 older adults), SLEs prospectively predicted future depressive symptoms, especially among those reporting elevated neuroticism, even after accounting for prior depressive symptoms and previous SLE exposure (NxSLE interaction: p = .016, ΔR² = 0.003). Cross-sectional analyses of the DNS, a young adult college sample with neuroimaging data, replicated this interaction (n = 1,343: NxSLE interaction: p = .019, ΔR² = 0.003) and provided evidence that neuroticism moderates the association between SLEs and reward-related VS response (n = 1,195, NxSLE: p = .017, ΔR² = 0.0048). Blunted left VS response to reward was associated with a lifetime depression diagnosis, r = -0.07, p = .02, but not current depressive symptoms, r = -0.003, p = .93. These data suggest that neuroticism may promote vulnerability to stress-related depression and that sensitivity to stress-related reductions in VS response may be a potential neural mechanism underlying vulnerability to clinically significant depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Reciprocal effects of personality and general distress: Neuroticism vulnerability is stronger than scarring.

Internalizing (anxiety and depressive) disorders, and the symptoms that comprise them, are known for being chronic and recurrent. Neuroticism, reflecting dispositional tendencies toward negative affect, is a personality trait that bears durable cross-sectional and prospective associations with internalizing symptoms. There are also indications that extraversion, consisting of tendencies such as the heightened experience of positive emotion, is associated with these symptoms. Some investigators have posited that the experience of internalizing symptoms leaves residual effects, or scars, on personality traits, with the effect of raising risk of symptom reexacerbation. In the present study, we compare vulnerability and scar effects in a sample of older adolescents (N = 606) at risk for the development of internalizing disorders. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed annually, as were neuroticism, extraversion, and other trait-like cognitive vulnerabilities. Cross-lagged panel models compared the relative strength of vulnerability and scar effects, revealing support for vulnerability effects but little evidence of scar effects. The results also showed that whatever scar effects might be present are weaker than vulnerability effects in the case of neuroticism. These findings underscore the importance of personality vulnerability for internalizing symptom risk by suggesting that neuroticism vulnerability is stronger than any lasting scars the experience of internalizing symptoms produce. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Stability of nightmare frequency and its relation to neuroticism: A longitudinal study.

Models of nightmare aetiology postulate an interaction between trait and state factors. However, most of the studies that support these models have been cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are scarce. The present data were obtained from N = 888 participants completing two online dream studies carried out independently with the same online panel 2 years apart. Nightmare frequency declined over the 2-year period and these changes were related to changes in neuroticism. The effect of current psychopathology (state aspect) on nightmare frequency was significant but much smaller compared to the effect of previously measured nightmare frequency (trait aspect) and, thus, the study provided empirical evidence for diathesis-stress models. Future longitudinal studies should take a closer look at life events and other factors that increase and/or decrease nightmare frequencies.

Is neuroticism relevant for old cancer survivors? A controlled, population-based study (the Norwegian HUNT-3 survey).

PURPOSE: Personality traits, particularly neuroticism, have an impact on people's health and lifestyle. Due to lack of previous studies, we examined old cancer survivors (OCSs) versus cancer-free age-matched controls aged ≥ 70 years, regarding prevalence of high neuroticism, health problems in those with high and low neuroticism, and sociodemographic and clinical variables that were significantly associated with high neuroticism. METHODS: We merged data from a Norwegian population-based health study (the HUNT-3) and from the Cancer Registry of Norway identifying OCSs. Three cancer-free controls were drawn at random for each OCS. Neuroticism was self-rated on a brief version of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Between-group statistical comparisons were made between OCS and controls, and among their subgroups with high and low neuroticism. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate independent variables significantly associated with high neuroticism. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of OCSs reported high neuroticism while controls reported 30%. OCSs showed significantly lower rate of good life satisfaction than controls. All other between-group comparisons were nonsignificant. Being OCSs was not significantly related to high neuroticism in the regression analyses. Sociodemographic, general health, and lifestyle issues, lack of energy, and low life satisfaction remained significantly associated with high neuroticism in the multivariable analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of high neuroticism was similar in OCSs and controls. High neuroticism was associated with negative health and lifestyle issues in both groups.