Neuropeptide Y gene variants and Agreeableness: interaction effect with the birth cohort and the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism

OBJECTIVE

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a powerful regulator of anxious states, including social anxiety, but evidence from human genetic studies is limited. Associations of common gene variants with behaviour have been described as subject to birth cohort effects, especially if the behaviour is socially motivated. This study aimed to examine the association of NPY rs16147 and rs5574 with personality traits in highly representative samples of two birth cohorts of young adults, the samples having been formed during a period of rapid societal transition.

METHODS

Both birth cohorts (original n = 1238) of the Estonian Children Personality Behaviour and Health Study (ECPBHS) self-reported personality traits of the five-factor model at 25 years of age.

RESULTS

A significant interaction effect of the NPY rs16147 and rs5574 and birth cohort on Agreeableness was found. The T/T genotype of NPY rs16147 resulted in low Agreeableness in the older cohort (born 1983) and in high Agreeableness in the younger cohort (born 1989). The C/C genotype of NPY rs5574 was associated with higher Agreeableness in the younger but not in the older cohort. In the NPY rs16147 T/T homozygotes, the deviations from average in Agreeableness within the birth cohort were dependent on the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism.

CONCLUSIONS

The association between the NPY gene variants and a personality domain reflecting social desirability is subject to change qualitatively in times of rapid societal changes, serving as an example of the relationship between the plasticity genes and environment. The underlying mechanism may involve the development of the serotonergic system.

The associations between religiosity and the Big-Five personality traits in college students from Sudan

Research on the association between religiosity and personality with Arab participants is rare. The aim of the present study was to explore this association using a sample (N = 623) of college students from Sudan. They responded to the Arabic Scale of Intrinsic Religiosity and the Arabic Big-Five Personality Inventory. The results indicated that men obtained a significantly higher mean score than did women for extraversion, whereas women obtained higher mean total scores for religiosity and neuroticism than did men. For both genders, religiosity was significantly and positively associated with agreeableness and conscientiousness. In college men only, religiosity was significantly correlated with extraversion. A principal components analysis of the combined sample of men and women retained two components and labeled "Positive traits" and "Neuroticism and Introversion". Predictors of religiosity were Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The model explains 42% of the variance. It was concluded that the associations observed in the Sudanese sample reflect the general pattern observed in other international samples.

Association between personality and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

BACKGROUND

Nearly half of adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND), characterized by cognitive impairments in two or more cognitive domains, which can interfere with everyday functioning. Many factors are thought to influence such cognitive impairments in adults with HIV; one factor seldom examined is personality.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the association between five major dimensions of personality (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and cognitive function in older adults with HIV.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, a secondary data analysis was conducted on 261 HIV + participants. Participants completed a norm-based cognitive battery covering seven cognitive domains, which yielded the following indices: global cognitive impairment, and global and domain-specific T-scores. The Big Five Inventory was used to assess personality traits.

RESULTS

Higher openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness were associated with better performance on individual cognitive domains while agreeableness and openness were also positively associated with global cognitive T-scores (p < .01). Only openness significantly predicted global cognition when adjusting for covariates (p < .01).

DISCUSSION

Openness was associated with better global cognitive function in persons with HIV. This study provides a basis for further investigation of potential mechanisms for the association between personality and cognition in people with HIV in order to ultimately inform intervention strategies.

Assessment of Personality Traits among Pediatric Dentists in India: A Cross-sectional Study

Aim

To identify the most common personality traits among pediatric dentists in India.

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Big Five personality test (BFPT). It included 50 questions based on five personality traits-extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. The questionnaire was e-mailed and also sent through WhatsApp messages as a Google Form to all the pediatric dentists in India. Scoring for each trait was done based on the specific formula provided. The data were subjected to statistical analysis using Mann-Whitney U test.

Results

A total of 390 pediatric dentists responded and filled out the questionnaire. The agreeableness trait was the most commonly exhibited trait, followed by the conscientiousness trait. Emotional stability was the least exhibited trait. Emotional stability was statistically different between male and female pediatric dentists.

Conclusion

Agreeableness and emotional stability were the most and least expressed traits, respectively, among the participants. This survey showed that pediatric dentists in India could have a high tolerance and competent behavior.

Clinical significance

Dentists may possess unique personality traits that distinguish them from the general population. Within the dental profession, there could be variations in personality traits depending on the specialty they practice.

How to cite this article

Asokan S, PR G, Dhanabalan O, et al. Assessment of Personality Traits Among Pediatric Dentists in India: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(3):489-493.

The role of social context in risky decision-making: Presence of friend and low resistance to peer influence increase risky decision-making

Following sociocultural and personality theory, the current study addresses the need to investigate the influence of the social context and related personality variables on risky decision-making. Risky decision-making was assessed in six daily-life scenarios in a sample of 357 adult participants, ages 18-75. Scenarios differed regarding competition (competitive vs. non-competitive) and presence of others (alone, with friends, or with acquaintances). Additionally, the personality variables ego-strength, agreeableness, and resistance-to-peer influence as well as demographic variables were assessed. Results showed that participants made more risky decisions in the non-competitive scenarios and in the scenarios when they were accompanied by a friend compared to when they were alone. Regression analyses revealed that men made more risky decisions than women. High resistance-to-peer influence and agreeableness whereas related to fewer risky decisions. Overall, results showed the strong influence of social and personality factors on risky decision-making which could have implications for prevention programmes. Further, these results show that a pure cognitive approach to the study of risky decision-making is too narrow. Considering cognition, social context, and personality traits together seems to be a promising approach for the study of risky daily-life decisions.

The Big Five personality traits and regularity of lifetime dental visit attendance: evidence of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

Background

Regular dental visits are essential for the prevention, early detection and treatment of worldwide highly prevalent oral diseases. Personality traits were previously associated with treatment compliance, medication adherence and regular doctor visits, however, the link between personality traits and regular dental visit attendance remains largely unexplored. Thus, the objective of this study is to clarify this link.

Methods

Data (wave 7) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used, focusing on Germany (n = 2822). Personality was assessed using the 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10). Regular dental visits were assessed. Multiple logistic regressions were used, adjusting for various covariates.

Results

Majority of the participants (84%) reported to attend regular dental visits during lifetime. Regularity of lifetime dental visit attendance was positively and significantly associated with increased extraversion [OR 1.13, 95% CI (1.01–1.26)], increased conscientiousness [OR 1.26, 95% CI (1.10–1.44)], and increased openness to experience [OR 1.12, 95% CI (1.01–1.26)]. However, there was a lack of association with agreeableness and neuroticism. Moreover, the outcome measure was positively associated with younger age, being female, born in Germany, being married, higher education, being retired (compared to being homemaker), whereas it was not associated with obesity or chronic diseases.

Conclusions

Identification of personality traits that are associated with regular dental visits can support prevention, screening and clinical management of oral diseases. Further research in this field may facilitate the development and increase the incorporation of individualized concepts to enhance patient compliance and attendance, and thus the provision of oral and dental care services.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40520-021-02051-2.

Personality traits differentiate patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls - A meta-analytic approach

BACKGROUND

Expression of specific personality traits has been associated with the presence and disease course of bipolar disorder (BD) in multiple studies. However, until today findings are inconsistent and potentially confounding factors such as age and gender as well as the limited sample size of previous studies make it difficult to generalize these findings. To overcome these limitations and to specify the role of personality traits in the context of BD, we performed a meta-analysis in patients with BD and healthy controls (HC), focusing on the traits of the big three and the big five: Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Openness (O), Conscientiousness (C), Agreeableness (A) and Psychoticism (P).

METHODS

Two online databases (Pubmed and Web of Science) were searched systematically to identify relevant articles, including publications up to December 31, 2019. From studies that met our inclusion criteria (n = 18), we extracted relevant data of patients with BD (n = 1694) and HC (n = 2153) and calculated effect sizes for each personality trait. Further, we performed moderator analysis on gender, age, quality score and years of publication.

RESULTS

Our results indicate that patients with BD exhibit higher scores on N (large positive effect size; n = 18, g = 1.44, 95%-CI : 1.11 to 1.77) and lower scores on C (medium negative effect size; n = 6, g = -0.78, 95%-CI: -1.13 to -0.43) and E (small negative effect size; n = 13, g = -0.38, 95%-CI: -0.52 to -0.23) compared to HC. We found a moderating effect of mean age on the effect size of N with smaller differences in N levels between patients with BD and HC in older samples (-0.0437, z = - 3.96, p <0.0001). Our results were robust with respect to potential publication biases and the inclusion of potentially confounding factors such as gender, age, quality score and years of publication.

LIMITATIONS

Due to the lack of available data no subgroup analysis on the effect of mood states of patients and subtypes of BD could be performed. Moreover, our analyses are based on cross-sectional data so that findings should be interpreted with care, especially concerning causal conclusions.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with BD showed differences in several personality traits compared to HC. Our results provide the basis for future research with focus on personality and psychopathology in patients with BD. Identifying the interaction between expressions of personality traits and BD might provide novel approaches in prevention and therapy.

Security awareness of single sign-on account in the academic community: the roles of demographics, privacy concerns, and Big-Five personality

Single sign-on (SSO) enables users to authenticate across multiple related but independent systems using a single username and password. While the number of higher education institutions adopting SSO continues to grow, little is known about the academic community's security awareness regarding SSO. This paper aims to examine the security awareness of SSO across various demographic groups within a single higher education institution based on their age, gender, and academic roles. Additionally, we investigate some psychological factors (i.e., privacy concerns and personality traits) that may influence users' level of SSO security awareness. Using survey data collected from 283 participants (faculty, staff, and students) and analyzed using a hierarchical linear regression model, we discovered a generational gap, but no gender gap, in security awareness of SSO. Additionally, our findings confirm that students have a significantly lower level of security awareness than faculty and staff. Finally, we discovered that privacy concerns have no effect on SSO security awareness on their own. Rather, they interact with the user's personality traits, most notably agreeableness and conscientiousness. The findings of this study lay the groundwork for future research and interventions aimed at increasing cybersecurity awareness among users of various demographic groups as well as closing any existing gaps between them.

A multilevel analysis of the role personality play between work organization conditions and psychological distress

BACKGROUND

Psychological distress in the workplace is usually attributed to work-related variables as well as non-work-related variables. Individuals working in the same organization can differ in terms of their appraisal of work-related stressors and coping strategies used to face them. The present study aims to evaluate the moderating role personality plays between work organizations conditions and psychological distress in a large sample of Canadian participants working in various occupations and workplaces.

METHODS

Multilevel regression analyses were conducted on a sample that followed a hierarchical structure with workers (N1 = 1958) nested in workplaces (N2 = 63). The direct contribution of workplace and personality was tested in a variance component model as a first step. Following this initial step, we introduced interaction variables by blocks of 11. Those interaction variables refer to each interaction combined with a specific personality variable.

RESULTS

Psychological demands, number of hours worked, job insecurity, neuroticism, and agreeableness were associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Inversely, decision authority, job recognition, self-esteem, locus of control were associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Lastly, agreeableness played a moderating role between low social support garnered from one's supervisor and psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS

To intervene on work-related variables, organizations could reduce psychological demands, minimize the number of hours worked through job redesign, allow teleworking and encourage work schedule flexibility. To reduce job insecurity, organizations could explicitly communicate future organizational plans. In the same vein, decision authority could be targeted by reducing hierarchical steps and increasing autonomy. Lastly, the results pertaining to agreeableness stand in contrast with those of previous studies. We assumed that workers scoring high on agreeableness tend to put themselves last and please others first. These tendencies could make them more susceptible to health issues. With that said, work environments still need workers who are agreeable and nice to be around. To prevent high levels of agreeableness leading to psychological distress, training and information workshops are recommended. Those include stress management interventions and workshops pertaining to time management and relaxation techniques.

On the relations between HEXACO agreeableness (versus anger) and honesty-humility

The HEXACO personality factors of Agreeableness-versus-Anger (A) and Honesty-Humility (H) are interpreted as two complementary aspects of reciprocal altruistic tendency. Here we consider several ways of representing the positive associations between the defining traits of A and of H, through common factor analysis of self-report HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO-PI-R) facet scale scores (N ≈ 111,000). We describe orthogonal solutions that differ in the extent to which H facets show secondary loadings on A (and vice versa), as well as an oblique solution compatible with a higher-order "cooperativeness" factor. We discuss the psychological plausibility of these solutions, and we review research showing differential associations of several phenomena or outcomes with A and H. We conclude that the optimal representation of A/H trait associations is not yet known but that the value of separate A and H factor scales is well established.

A sleep and self-control model of cyber incivility at work

OBJECTIVES

To conduct an empirical test of a conceptual model in which sleep duration would have an indirect negative effect on cyber incivility at work, mediated by self-regulatory fatigue and moderated by agreeableness.

DESIGN

A 2-week daily diary study in which employees completed daily surveys in the mornings and at the end of the workday.

SETTING

An observational study which measured sleep and work behaviors in the daily work lives of our participants.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred thirty-one adults who were full-time employees and were also enrolled in a 2-year Executive Post Graduate Program at a university in India.

MEASUREMENT

Participants completed a baseline survey which included agreeableness as well as demographics and person-level control variables. At 7 AM each workday, we sent participants the morning survey which included the sleep measure. At 4 PM each workday, we sent participant the end of workday survey which included measures of self-regulatory fatigue, cyber incivility, and day-level control variables. Participants completed a total of 945 morning surveys and 843 afternoon surveys.

RESULTS

Results supported our model. Sleep duration was negatively associated with self-regulatory fatigue, which was positively related to cyber incivility. Agreeableness moderated the relationship between sleep duration and self-regulatory fatigue, as well as the indirect effect of sleep duration on cyber incivility.

CONCLUSION

Employees have more self-regulatory fatigue and thus engage in higher levels of cyber incivility at work after a shorter night of sleep, especially if those employees are low in agreeableness.

Electrophysiological responses to negative evaluative person-knowledge: Effects of individual differences

Faces transmit rich information about a unique personal identity. Recent studies examined how negative evaluative information affects event-related potentials (ERPs), the relevance of individual differences, such as trait anxiety, neuroticism, or agreeableness, for these effects is unclear. In this preregistered study, participants (N = 80) were presented with neutral faces, either associated with highly negative or neutral biographical information. Faces were shown under three different task conditions that varied the attentional focus on face-unrelated features, perceptual face information, or emotional information. Results showed a task-independent increase of the N170 component for faces associated with negative information, while interactions occurred for the Early Posterior Negativity (EPN) and the Late Positive Potential (LPP), showing ERP differences only when paying attention to the evaluative information. Trait anxiety and neuroticism did not influence ERP differences. Low agreeableness increased EPN differences during perceptual distraction. Thus, we observed that low agreeableness leads to early increased processing of potentially hostile faces, although participants were required to attend to a face-unrelated feature.

Representation of social content in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex underlies individual differences in agreeableness trait

Personality traits reflect key aspects of individual variability in different psychological domains. Understanding the mechanisms that give rise to these differences requires an exhaustive investigation of the behaviors associated with such traits, and their underlying neural sources. Here we investigated the mechanisms underlying agreeableness, one of the five major dimensions of personality, which has been linked mainly to socio-cognitive functions. In particular, we examined whether individual differences in the neural representations of social information are related to differences in agreeableness of individuals. To this end, we adopted a multivariate representational similarity approach that captured within single individuals the activation pattern similarity of social and non-social content, and tested its relation to the agreeableness trait in a hypothesis-driven manner. The main result confirmed our prediction: processing social and non-social content led to similar patterns of activation in individuals with low agreeableness, while in more agreeable individuals these patterns were more dissimilar. Critically, this association between agreeableness and encoding similarity of social and random content was significant only in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, a brain region consistently involved during attributions of mental states. The present finding reveals the link between neural mechanisms underlying social information processing and agreeableness, a personality trait highly related to socio-cognitive abilities, thereby providing a step forward in characterizing its neural determinants. Furthermore, it emphasizes the advantage of multivariate pattern analysis approaches in capturing and understanding the neural sources of individual variations.

The bright side of personality

The article addresses the question, which personality dimensions mostly contribute to the positive human functioning, especially to wellbeing and prosocial values. As we predicted, the three dimensions from the Big Five factors are mostly opposed to the negative personality characteristics known as Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy), namely emotional stability (low neuroticism), agreeableness and conscientiousness. The results demonstrated negative relationship between these personality dimensions (labeled Bright Triad) and Dark Triad. Both Dark and Bright Triad dimensions are substantially loaded with one single bipolar latent dimension, the Dark versus Bright Personality. The results also confirmed the substantial connections of the Bright Triad dimensions to the wellbeing and the values. The Bright Triad dimensions are positively associated with general life satisfaction and traditional, social, cognitive and democratic values and tend to be negatively associated with status or power values. On the other side, Dark Triad dimensions are positively related to the status values and tend to be negatively related to the prosocial values.

Who gives a veg? Relations between personality and Vegetarianism/Veganism

With rates of vegetarianism and veganism (i.e., veg*nism) rising around the world, a growing body of research has begun to explore psychological characteristics that distinguish vegetarians and vegans from omnivores. However, relatively few studies have examined how veg*nism is related to differences in basic personality traits such as the "Big Five", with those that have tending to yield conflicting results. Moreover, none of these studies have examined personality at the lower levels of the personality trait hierarchy (i.e., aspects and facets of the Big Five). Thus, we sought to clarify how personality traits are related to veg*nism. In Study 1, comprising two samples (S1a: N = 797, S1b: N = 1534), participants were categorised as Veg*n vs Restricted-omnivore vs Omnivore, and completed personality questionnaires at the domain and aspect levels of the Big Five. In Study 2, participants (N = 562) completed both categorical and continuous measures of veg*nism, along with personality questionnaires at the domain, aspect, and facet levels. Across both studies, we found that people who scored higher on traits within the openness/intellect and agreeableness domains most consistently reported higher levels of veg*nism. Patterns in the data also suggested that the relation between personality and veg*nism might depend on the way veg*nism is measured. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Autonomous motivation and support flourishes for individuals higher in collaborative personality factors: Agreeableness, assisted autonomy striving, and secure attachment

INTRODUCTION

Individuals who strive autonomously for their goals, and who perceive autonomy supportive environments are more successful during goal pursuit. What dispositional factors predict autonomy flourishing during goal pursuit?

METHODS

Four longitudinal studies were conducted over an 8-month academic year, and university students (N_total  = 1,544) completed surveys on motivation, support, and personality. Structural equation models were created using Mplus software to test whether collaborative personality factors were related to growth in autonomous motivation and autonomy support.

RESULTS

All three distinct collaborative personality factors, trait Agreeableness, assisted autonomy striving, and secure parental attachment, were related to increases in autonomous motivation over the academic year. Conscientiousness, assisted autonomy, and secure attachment were related to increases in perceived autonomy support. A higher order latent collaborative traits factor, composed of Agreeableness, assisted autonomy, and secure attachment was found to be related to increased autonomous motivation and support over the academic year and resulted in increased goal progress.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that individuals higher in collaborative personality factors experience growth in personal autonomy during goal pursuit. Future research is needed to determine how to promote collaboration in goal pursuit to further help individuals successfully strive for their goals.

Investigating the impacts of personality on the use and perceptions of online collaborative platforms in higher education

Collaborative work is a critical component of active learning. Where in-person collaboration may not be possible, inclusion of online collaboration tools has become more prevalent. Previous studies have suggested that online collaboration is beneficial to overall learning outcomes; however, little research has investigated how differences in personality traits, such as extraversion and agreeableness, impact the benefits and effectiveness of collaborative learning, both through online (synchronous and asynchronous) and in-person platforms. In the present study, 360 (66.4% female) undergraduate students completed an online survey to assess perceptions of and beliefs about online synchronous, online asynchronous, and in-person collaboration in higher education with a focus on the impact of extraversion and agreeableness. Findings indicated that students had more experience and greater preference for online synchronous collaboration compared to online asynchronous collaboration; however, students believed that in-person collaboration was most effective. Both extraversion and agreeableness predicted positive beliefs about group work in both online and in-person settings but not uniformly. These findings support the use of online synchronous collaboration when in-person opportunities are limited; however, individual differences related to personality traits can differentially impact students' perceptions toward and actions within collaboration contexts.

Effects of gender and personality on everyday moral decision-making after acute stress exposure

Exposure to acute psychosocial stress has been shown to affect moral decision-making, though little is known about potential gender differences or effects of personality. In two within-subjects design studies, 179 healthy men and women (N = 99 in Study 1, N = 80 in Study 2) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a non-stress control condition (resting period) on two testing days in random order. After stress/resting, moral decision-making was assessed by the Everyday Moral Conflict Situations (EMCS) Scale (Singer et al., 2019), which requests altruistic versus egoistic responses to everyday moral conflict scenarios with varying closeness of target persons. We investigated effects of acute stress, social closeness, participants' gender, and the a priori selected personality traits agreeableness, empathy, and social desirability on everyday moral decision-making. Despite high statistical power, we could neither confirm the hypothesized effects of acute stress nor social closeness on EMCS scores in both samples. However, our data revealed a prosocial impact of acute stress on everyday moral decisions rather in females than males as well as effects of agreeableness and social desirability. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) levels in Study 1 and cortisol levels in females in Study 2 were significantly correlated with higher EMCS scores after acute stress exposure. Additionally, lower anticipatory subjective stress responses were associated with more altruistic decisions. Moreover, we found positive relationships between hypothetical moral decision-making and real prosocial behavior (opportunity for a charitable donation). In sum, due to methodological differences compared to previous between-subjects design studies, it might not be justified to rule out effects of acute stress on everyday moral decision-making based on the current within-subjects results. Nevertheless, the present data suggest that specific personality traits like agreeableness might have a stronger impact on everyday moral decision-making than short term-exposure to acute stress.

Examining the conceptual and empirical distinctiveness of Agreeableness and "dark" personality items

OBJECTIVE

A growing research literature has focused on what have been termed "dark" personality traits/constructs. More recently, the "dark factor" of personality has been proposed as a unifying framework for this research. To date, little work has rigorously investigated whether the traits/constructs investigated in the context of the dark factor can be captured by existing models of normative personality, namely Agreeableness from the Five-factor Model. Thus, the "dark factor" may be an instance of the "jangle" fallacy, where two constructs with different names are in fact the same construct.

METHOD

We used a preregistered approach that made use of bass-ackward factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and nomological network analysis to investigate the distinction between the D factor and Agreeableness.

RESULTS

Agreeableness and the D factor were similar in their coverage of antagonistic personality content, strongly negatively related (latent r = -.90), and showed near perfect profile dissimilarity (r_ICC  = -.99).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggested that the D factor can be understood as the opposite pole of Agreeableness (i.e., antagonism) and not as a distinct construct. We discuss the implications for researchers interested in continuing to advance the study of antagonistic personality traits.

Influence of Neuroticism on the Prognosis of Nanoceramic and Microhybrid Composite Restoration: A Comparative 1-year Clinical Study

AIM

This study aimed to compare the clinical performance of nanoceramic and microhybrid-based composite restorations in adult patients with different personality traits.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria were asked to complete the BFI (Big Five Inventory) questionnaire. Of a total of 323 patients, 124 (67 males and 57 females) patients were categorized into agreeableness and neuroticism traits and were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two subgroups: SG I A (n = 31) and II A (n = 31) for microhybrid composite (Spectrum TPH 3, Dentsply/DeTrey, Konstanz, Germany), SG I B (n = 31) and II B (n = 32) for nanoceramic composite restorations (Ceram X mono, Dentsply/DeTrey, Germany). At baseline, 6 and 12 months, the restorations were evaluated using the Modified USPHS (United States Public Health Service) evaluation criteria. The Pearson chi-square and the Fisher's exact test were used to assess the difference between the personality traits and restorative material groups where a probability value of P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

RESULT

Most of the restorations scored alfa (A), whereas very few scored bravo (B) in all the subgroups. However, there were no charlie (C) or delta (D) scores. Overall, Spectrum TPH and Ceram x mono displayed superior performances in retention and postoperative sensitivity than all the other clinical parameters. Furthermore, Ceram x mono restorations showed more surface roughness than Spectrum TPH. No statistical differences in the restoration performance were found between both personalities and restorative material types.

CONCLUSION

Although neuroticism has an effect on various health outcomes, its impact on the clinical performance of composite restorations during the follow-up period was not observed. In addition, there was no difference between the performance of nanohybrid and microhybrid composite.

Impact of Anal Fissure on Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness: A Case-Control Study

Introduction

Scientific literature on determining patterns of personality traits in patients with anal fissure is limited.

Objectives

To determine whether certain common psychological traits are associated with anal fissure.

Methods

A case-control study was carried out in Spain in 2016-2017. Patients with acute or chronic idiopathic anal fissure (n = 35) and controls (n = 32) were recruited. The main outcome measures were those defined in the NEO-FFI questionnaire, validated in Spain, which was administered to all the participants. This questionnaire evaluates the following traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Results

Three significant traits were noted: (1) greater neuroticism in the cases (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.08-1.32, p < 0.001, AUC 0.77), (2) greater openness to experience in the controls (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.98, p = 0.015, AUC 0.69), and (3) greater conscientiousness in the controls (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83-1.00, p = 0.049, AUC 0.69).

Conclusions

The cases mainly presented higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of openness to experience and conscientiousness. Further studies are needed to corroborate our results.

The relationship among resting-state brain activity and connectivity, agreeableness and displaced aggression: Two possible mediation models

BACKGROUND

Displaced aggression is a specific form of attack prompted by rumination on anger experiences and revenge thought which might lead to expression of anger on innocent people. There is sufficient evidence demonstrating the potential role of agreeableness in reducing displaced aggression in theory. However, little is known about the neural basis of displaced aggression and how agreeableness and the underlying neural mechanisms link to displaced aggression.

METHODS

In this investigation, we examined these issues on 123 college students by assessing resting-state brain activity (i.e. amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, ALFF) and connectivity (i.e. resting-state functional connectivity, RSFC).

RESULTS

Whole-brain correlation analysis revealed that a higher level of displaced aggression was linked with decreased ALFF in the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and decreased RSFC between the left dmPFC and left ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Mediation analysis further revealed that left dmPFC activity and the left dmPFC-vmPFC connectivity mediated the relationship between agreeableness and displaced aggression, as well as agreeableness mediated the relation between left dmPFC activity and the left dmPFC-vmPFC connectivity and displaced aggression.

LIMITATIONS

Only ALFF and RSFC were used as indicators of brain function in this study. The two mediation models need to be further tested by longitudinal design or experimental methods in further studies.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggested that dmPFC and vmPFC might be the functional neural markers of displaced aggression and provided two possible mediation models regarding the relationship among the resting-state brain activity and connectivity, agreeableness and displaced aggression.

Correlation of motivations for selfie-posting behavior with personality traits

BACKGROUND

The widespread popularity of selfie-posting behavior has led to increasing academic interest in exploring psychological determinants for this behavior.

AIM

The study aimed to evaluate sociodemographic factors, personality traits, and psychological motivations associated with selfie-posting behavior and to evaluate the association of psychological motivations for selfie-posting with personality traits.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study assessed 727 medical and physiotherapy students with a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of information about sociodemographic factors, selfie-posting, and editing behavior, the Big Five Inventory and motivations for selfie-posting scale.

RESULTS

There was a positive correlation of female gender, extraversion, and agreeableness with selfie-posting and editing and a negative correlation of neuroticism with both types of behavior. Communication was the most common motivation for selfie-posting followed by attention seeking. Extraverted people post selfies for attention seeking, communication, and archiving motive while agreeable individuals post them only for communication and archiving.

CONCLUSION

Females as well as individuals with high extraversion and agreeableness engage in selfie-posting and selfie-editing more frequently while neurotic individuals tend to avoid engaging this behavior. Motivation for posting selfies most commonly was for communication followed by attention seeking. Individuals with different personalities use selfies differently to fulfill their inner psychological needs.

Auspicious or suspicious - Does religiosity really promote elder well-being? Examining the belief-as-benefit effect among older Japanese

Recent findings suggest that the belief-as-benefit effect (BABE) - the positive association between religiosity and health/well-being - is a spurious correlation voided by personality traits. The current paper investigates the cross-sectional relationships among personality, religiosity and psychological well-being in an older adult sample randomly-selected from Tokyo, Japan. Correlation and Hierarchical Regression Modelling (HRM)-with a two one-sided test (TOST) of equivalence-is utilized. The standard BABE correlation is reproduced. However, HRM utilizing a meaningful benchmark of effect (β ≥ .15) largely neuters the result after controlling for trait agreeableness and conscientiousness. Religiosity does remain statistically related to the purpose in life and positive relationships sub-scales; though it explains just a sliver of variance in both instances. Compared to religiosity, agreeableness, conscientiousness and education level were more substantial and consistent well-being predictors. Whether religiosity auspices the psychological health of older Japanese adults thus remains to be established.

Personality variables modify the relationship between childhood maltreatment history and poor functional outcomes

Childhood maltreatment history is a prevalent risk factor for substance use disorder and has lifelong adverse consequences on psychiatric wellbeing. The role of personality variations in determining childhood maltreatment-associated outcomes is poorly understood. This study sought to test neuroticism and agreeableness as mediator and moderator, respectively, of functional outcomes associated with having a history of childhood maltreatment and presence/absence of cocaine dependence. Ninety-four participants completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). The distribution-of-the-product strategy tested if neuroticism mediated the relationship between CTQ and ASI scores. Agreeableness was tested as a moderator using bootstrapped multiple regression analyses with agreeableness*CTQ interaction terms as predictors of ASI scores. Analyses covaried for cocaine dependence to determine its influence. Neuroticism mediated the relationship between severity of childhood maltreatment history and family (ASI-Family) and psychiatric (ASI-Psychiatric) dysfunction in adulthood, independent of cocaine dependence. Agreeableness negatively moderated the effect of childhood maltreatment severity on family dysfunction. Exposure to emotional neglect and abuse selectively drove the mediation and moderation effects. Personality-directed interventions that reduce neuroticism or increase agreeableness may be promising approaches to uncouple childhood maltreatment history from lifelong social and psychiatric dysfunction.

Only-child and non-only-child exhibit differences in creativity and agreeableness: evidence from behavioral and anatomical structural studies

Different family composition and size inevitably make only-children different from non-only-children. Previous studies have focused on the differences in behaviors, such as cognitive function and personality traits, between the only-child and the non-only-child. However, there are few studies that have focused on the topic of whether different family environments influence children's brain structural development and whether behavior differentially has its neural basis between only-child and non-only-child status. Thus, in the present study, we investigated the differences in cognition (e.g., intelligence and creativity) and personality and the anatomical structural differences of gray matter volume (GMV) using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) between only-children and non-only-children. The behavioral results revealed that only-children exhibited higher flexibility scores (a dimension of creativity) and lower agreeableness scores (a dimension of personality traits) than non-only-children. Most importantly, the GMV results revealed that there were significant differences in the GMV between only-children and non-only-children that occurred mainly in the brain regions of the supramarginal gyrus, which was positively correlated with flexibility scores; the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which was positively correlated with agreeableness scores; and the parahippocampal gyrus. These findings may suggest that family environment (i.e., only-child vs. non-only-child), may play important roles in the development of the behavior and brain structure of individuals.

Personality and Neural Correlates of Mentalizing Ability

Theory of mind, or mentalizing, defined as the ability to reason about another's mental states, is a crucial psychological function that is disrupted in some forms of psychopathology, but little is known about how individual differences in this ability relate to personality or brain function. One previous study linked mentalizing ability to individual differences in the personality trait Agreeableness. Agreeableness encompasses two major subdimensions: Compassion reflects tendencies toward empathy, prosocial behavior, and interpersonal concern, whereas Politeness captures tendencies to suppress aggressive and exploitative impulses. We hypothesized that Compassion but not Politeness would be associated with better mentalizing ability. This hypothesis was confirmed in Study 1 (N = 329) using a theory of mind task that required reasoning about the beliefs of fictional characters. Post hoc analyses indicated that the honesty facet of Agreeableness was negatively associated with mentalizing. In Study 2 (N = 217), we examined whether individual differences in mentalizing and related traits were associated with patterns of resting-state functional connectivity in the brain. Performance on the theory of mind task was significantly associated with patterns of connectivity between the dorsal medial and core subsystems of the default network, consistent with evidence implicating these regions in mentalization.

Five factor model personality traits relate to adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder but not to their distinct neurocognitive profiles

Deficits in multiple neuropsychological domains and specific personality profiles have been observed in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study we investigated whether personality traits are related to neurocognitive profiles in adults with ADHD. Neuropsychological performance and Five Factor Model (FFM) personality traits were measured in adults with ADHD (n = 133) and healthy controls (n = 132). Three neuropsychological profiles, derived from previous community detection analyses, were investigated for personality trait differences. Irrespective of cognitive profile, participants with ADHD showed significantly higher Neuroticism and lower Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness than healthy controls. Only the FFM personality factor Openness differed significantly between the three profiles. Higher Openness was more common in those with aberrant attention and inhibition than those with increased delay discounting and atypical working memory / verbal fluency. The results suggest that the personality trait Openness, but not any other FFM factor, is linked to neurocognitive profiles in ADHD. ADHD symptoms rather than profiles of cognitive impairment have associations with personality traits.

Spirit or Fleeting Apparition? Why Spirituality's Link with Social Support Might Be Incrementally Invalid

Previously published path models apparently confirm the belief-as-benefit perspective that spirituality boosts well-being via social support. The broad acceptance of such findings has motivated recommendations that clinical psychologists and psychiatrists routinely assess their patients' spiritual status. Skeptics retort that past findings are statistically confounded and that numinous beliefs and well-being are unrelated. A multivariate regression analysis testing whether spirituality explains variance in social support after personality traits are simultaneously included is reported. Although spirituality displays a significant positive correlation and partial correlation (after controlling for socio-demographics) with social support, regression analysis specifying agreeableness and conscientiousness-individual differences related to both spirituality and social support-as predictors renders spirituality nonsignificant. In summary, spirituality's correlation with social support appears spurious; demonstrating the hazards of relying on simple associations and highlighting the urgent need for researchers to utilize statistical methods capable of establishing cause and parsing effects across rival theoretical explanations.

Struggling to be liked: The prospective effect of trait self-control on social desirability and the moderating role of agreeableness

Drawing from the literature on the interpersonal functions of self-control, we examined longitudinal associations between trait self-control and social desirability, using a survey of the general population in the Netherlands. Trait self-control at baseline was positively associated with social desirability at a follow-up, even when controlling for prior levels of social desirability. That is, high self-control contributed to individuals' tendency to give socially desirable responses in self-reports. This effect was moderated by individual differences in agreeableness. Highly agreeable individuals were more likely to "use" their self-regulatory resources to respond in a socially desirable manner, compared to less agreeable individuals, suggesting that individuals might use self-regulatory resources in a way consistent with the motivational bases of their personality.

"I Wanna Be the Very Best!" Agreeableness and Perseverance Predict Sustained Playing to Pokémon Go: A Longitudinal Study

OBJECTIVE

The smartphone game Pokémon Go™ has attracted much scientific attention regarding its potential health-related outcomes. Most studies, however, limited their investigation to short-term outcomes. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of personality traits in predicting sustained playing to the game on a 6-month period as well as related health outcomes in terms of distance walked per day.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pokémon Go players from 10 countries were recruited through social media and answered an online questionnaire. At Phase I (August 2016), 402 participants provided their game statistics and filled an extensive personality inventory (six main personality traits, impulsivity, need for cognition, need for closure, competitiveness, and self-efficacy). At Phase II (December 2016), 151 participants indicated whether they were still playing or not and provided updated game statistics.

RESULTS

No personality traits predicted the distance walked by the players. However, the probability of still being playing the game at Phase II was positively predicted by three personality traits: agreeableness, perseverance, and premeditation. Distance walked per day significantly decreased between Phases I and II but remained substantial.

CONCLUSION

This study identified three personality traits that predicted sustained playing and thus potentially higher game-related physical activity in the long run. In comparison with prior work, this study goes a step forward by (i) investigating personality traits underlying use of the game and related health outcomes, and (ii) providing longitudinal data concerning the use of the game. Findings open new perspectives for the development of other exergames.

Leniency Bias in Performance Ratings: The Big-Five Correlates

Some researchers assume that employees' personality characteristics affect leniency in rating others and themselves. However, little research has investigated these two tendencies at the same time. In the present study we developed one index for other-rating leniency and another one for self-rating leniency. Based on a review of the literature, we hypothesized that a generous assessment of peers would more likely be made by those who are extroverted and agreeable than by those who are not. Furthermore, a generous assessment of oneself would more likely be made by people who are conscientious and emotionally stable, than by people who are not. We also investigated if the leniency in rating others and the leniency in rating oneself are part of a more general leniency tendency. Data collected from a sample of real estate dealers provided support for the above hypotheses. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Agreeableness and pregnancy: Relations with coping and psychiatric symptoms, a longitudinal study on Spanish pregnant women

Agreeableness is associated with good mental health during pregnancy. Although different studies have indicated that agreeableness is related to adaptive coping, this relation has scarcely been studied in pregnant women. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible differences between high and low agreeableness in relation to coping strategies and psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women. We conducted a longitudinal prospective study between October 2009 and January 2013. Pregnant women (n = 285) were assessed in the first trimester of pregnancy, and 122 of them were assessed during the third. Data were collected using the Coping Strategies Questionnaire, the Symptom Check List 90-R, and the agreeableness subscale of the NEO-FFI. Using the SPSS 21 statistics package, binary logistic regression, two-way mixed analysis of variance, and multiple regression analyses and a Sobel test were conducted. Higher levels of agreeableness were associated with positive reappraisal and problem-solving, and lower levels of agreeableness were associated with overt emotional expression and negative self-focused coping. Women with low agreeableness had poorer mental health, especially in the first trimester. These findings should be taken into account to improve women's experiences during pregnancy. Nevertheless, given the scarcity of data, additional studies are needed.

The Influence of Agreeableness and Ego Depletion on Emotional Responding

OBJECTIVE

Agreeable individuals report more intense withdrawal-oriented negative emotions across aversive situations. Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-regulatory depletion (i.e., ego depletion) moderates the relationship between trait Agreeableness and negative emotional responding.

METHOD

Ego depletion was manipulated using a writing task. Emotional responding was measured with startle eye-blink responses (Study 1, N = 71) and self-reported valence, arousal, and empathic concern (Study 2, N = 256) during emotional picture viewing. Trait Agreeableness was measured using a questionnaire.

RESULTS

In Study 1, Agreeableness predicted especially large startle responses during aversive images and especially small startles during appetitive images. After exercising self-control, the relationship between startle magnitudes and Agreeableness decreased. In Study 2, Agreeableness predicted more empathic concern for aversive images, which in turn predicted heightened self-reported negative emotions. After exercising self-control, the relationship between Agreeableness and empathic concern decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Agreeable individuals exhibit heightened negative emotional responding. Ego depletion reduced the link between Agreeableness and negative emotional responding in Study 1 and moderated the indirect effect of Agreeableness on negative emotional responding via empathic concern in Study 2. Empathic concern appears to be a resource-intensive process underlying heightened responding to aversive stimuli among agreeable persons.

Identifying Essential Features of Juvenile Psychopathy in the Prediction of Later Antisocial Behavior: Is There an Additive, Synergistic, or Curvilinear Role for Fearless Dominance?

Despite years of research, and inclusion of psychopathy DSM-5, there remains debate over the fundamental components of psychopathy. Although there is agreement about traits related to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, there is less agreement about traits related to Fearless Dominance (FD) or Boldness. The present paper uses proxies of FD and Self-centered Impulsivity (SCI) to examine the contribution of FD-related traits to the predictive utility of psychopathy in a large, longitudinal, sample of boys to test four possibilities: FD 1. assessed earlier is a risk factor, 2. interacts with other risk-related variables to predict later psychopathy, 3. interacts with SCI interact to predict outcomes, and 4. bears curvilinear relations to outcomes. SCI received excellent support as a measure of psychopathy in adolescence; however, FD was unrelated to criteria in all tests. It is suggested that FD be dropped from psychopathy and that future research focus on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.

Sexual Risk Behaviors in the Adolescent Offspring of Parents with Bipolar Disorder: Prospective Associations with Parents' Personality and Externalizing Behavior in Childhood

We recently reported that adolescent and young adult offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (OBD), relative to control offspring, were more likely to engage in sexual risk behaviors (SRBs). The present prospective study aimed to determine the contribution of parents' personality and offspring behaviour problems in middle childhood to offspring SRBs 10 years later. We hypothesized that offspring externalizing problems in childhood would mediate the relationship between parents' personality traits of neuroticism and agreeableness and adolescent SRBs. Furthermore, we expected these associations to be more robust among the OBD than controls. At baseline, 102 offspring (52 OBD and 50 controls) aged between 4 and 14 years were assessed along with their parents, who completed a self-report personality measure and child behavior rating. Behaviour ratings were also obtained from the children's teachers. Ten years later the offspring completed an interview assessing SRBs. Mediation analyses using bootstrapping revealed that, after controlling for age and presence of an affective disorder, externalizing behaviors served as a pathway through which high parental neuroticism, low parental agreeableness, and low parental extraversion were related to SRBs in offspring. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between parental neuroticism and childhood externalizing problems was stronger for OBD than controls. These findings add to our previous results showing parents' personality contributes to intergenerational risk transfer through behavioral problems in middle childhood. These results carry implications for optimal timing of preventative interventions in the OBD.

Personality Factor as a Predictor of Depression Score Among Depressed and CHD Patients

INTRODUCTION

Many risk factors can affect depression and coronary disease, these including physiological and psychological risk factors (such as personality traits).

OBJECTIVES

Our objectives were to examine whether personality factors (The Five-Factor Model) can predict depression score in the depressed and coronary heart disease (CHD) individuals compared to that of healthy subjects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To achieve the above objectives, 100 depressed (Mean=35.90 years, SD=10.59 years), and 100 CHD (Mean=46.42 years, SD=12.52 years), patients and 100 healthy subjects (Mean = 37.97 years, SD =12.49 years) were selected by convenience sampling method. To compare the three groups of participants, ANOVA test was used. Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis was used to identify the variables that most closely predict the perceived stress and depression scores. Pearson's Correlation Co-efficient was used to examine the correlation between variables.

RESULTS

In Neuroticism, the CHD patients had significant highest scores, followed by depressed patients. The healthy group had the least scores. In case of Extraversion, Openness and Agreeableness, healthy participants had significant higher scores followed by the depressed and CHD patients. Only in conscientiousness factor, Depressive and CHD groups had statistically less scores compared to the healthy group. Also, high Neuroticism and Age, and low Extraversion were significant protective factors for depression Scores of CHD patients, while high Neuroticism and low Extraversion function as predictors in the depressed and healthy groups.

CONCLUSION

The effects of Neuroticism and Extraversion on depression have been reported as inconsistent across previous studies. This study indicates that, older CHD individuals with high Neuroticism and low Extraversion scores are more vulnerable for depression.

Do personality traits moderate the manifestation of type 2 diabetes genetic risk?

OBJECTIVE

To test whether personality traits moderate type 2 diabetes (T2D) genetic risk.

METHODS

Using a large community-dwelling sample (n=837, Mage=69.59±0.85years, 49% males) we fitted a series of linear regression models predicting glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) from T2D polygenic risk - aggregation of small individual effects of a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) - and five personality traits. We tested the main effects of personality traits and their interactions with T2D polygenic risk score, controlling for age and sex. The models in the final set were adjusted for cognitive ability, highest educational qualification, and occupational class.

RESULTS

Lower levels of openness were associated with heightened levels of HbA1c (β=-0.014, p=.032). There was a significant interaction between T2D polygenic risk score and agreeableness: lower agreeableness was related to a stronger association between T2D polygenic risk and HbA1c (β=-0.08, p=.021). In the model adjusted for cognitive ability, the main effect of openness was not significant (β=-0.08, p=.057). The interaction between agreeableness and T2D polygenic risk was still present after controlling for cognitive ability and socioeconomic status indicators, and the interaction between conscientiousness and polygenic risk score was also significant: lower conscientiousness was associated with a stronger association between T2D polygenic risk and HbA1c levels (β=0.09, p=.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Personality may be associated with markers of diabetes, and may moderate the expression of its genetic risk.

Weight bias as a function of person variables and contact experiences

We tested a mediation model of weight bias that considers person attributes and contact experiences with overweight individuals. In Study 1, we administered a survey to assess Openness, Agreeableness, Attributional Complexity, contact experiences with overweight individuals, and weight bias. Mediation analyses found that Agreeableness predicted less weight bias through contact experiences. In Study 2, we asked participants to interact with a peer whose weight and attributions regarding the weight were experimentally manipulated. We then measured acceptance of the peer. Agreeableness was found to indirectly predict more acceptance of an overweight peer through Empathy and contact experiences. These results show that contact theory is applicable to the domain of weight bias, and support person-situation approaches to prejudice.

Interactions between donor Agreeableness and recipient characteristics in predicting charitable donation and positive social evaluation

Agreeable people are more likely to display prosocial attitudes and helpful behavior in a broad range of situations. Here we show that this tendency interacts with the personal characteristics of interaction partners. In an online study (n = 284), participants were given the opportunity to report attitudes toward and make monetary donations to needy individuals who were described in dynamically generated biographies. Using a machine learning and multilevel modeling framework, we tested three potential explanations for the facilitatory influence of Agreeableness on charitable behavior. We find that Agreeableness preferentially increased donations and prosocial attitudes toward targets normatively rated as being more deserving. Our results advance understanding of person-by-situation interactions in the context of charitable behavior and prosocial attitudes.

The HEXACO Honesty-Humility, Agreeableness, and Emotionality factors: a review of research and theory

We review research and theory on the HEXACO personality dimensions of Honesty-Humility (H), Agreeableness (A), and Emotionality (E), with particular attention to the following topics: (1) the origins of the HEXACO model in lexical studies of personality structure, and the content of the H, A, and E factors in those studies; (2) the operationalization of the H, A, and E factors in the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised; (3) the construct validity of self-reports on scales measuring the H factor; (4) the theoretical distinction between H and A; (5) similarity and assumed similarity between social partners in personality, with a focus on H and A; (6) the extent to which H (and A and E) variance is represented in instruments assessing the "Five-Factor Model" of personality; and (7) the relative validity of scales assessing the HEXACO and Five-Factor Model dimensions in predicting criteria conceptually relevant to H, A, and E.

Associations between the Five-Factor Model personality traits and psychotic experiences in patients with psychotic disorders, their siblings and controls

Earlier studies indicated that personality characteristics contribute to symptomatic outcome in patients with psychotic disorders. The aim of the present study was to further explore this connection by examining the relationship between the Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits and a dimensional liability for psychosis. FFM traits according to the NEO-FFI and levels of subclinical psychotic symptoms according to the CAPE were assessed in 217 patients with psychotic disorders, 281 of their siblings and 176 healthy controls. Psychotic symptoms according to the PANSS were assessed in the patient group. Patients differed from siblings and controls on four of the five FFM traits, all but Openness. Siblings reported higher levels of Neuroticism than controls, but lower levels than patients. Particularly lower Agreeableness, and to a lesser degree, higher Neuroticism and lower Extraversion were associated with more severe symptoms in patients. Furthermore, higher Neuroticism and higher Openness were associated with higher levels of subclinical psychotic experiences in all three groups. Associations were strongest in patients. Our findings suggest that levels of Neuroticism increase with the level of familial risk for psychosis. Levels of Openness may reflect levels of impairment that distinguish clinical from subclinical symptomatology.

Do as You're Told! Facets of Agreeableness and Early Adult Outcomes for Inner-City Boys

With data from the middle cohort of the Pittsburgh Youth Study, a prospective longitudinal study of inner-city boys, we examined whether Big Five agreeableness facets could be reliably recovered in this sample, and whether facets predicted educational, occupational, social, and antisocial life outcomes assessed a decade later. Caregivers described their adolescent boys' personalities using the Common California Q-Set; twelve years later, participants were interviewed and court records were obtained. Factor analyses recovered two facets: compliance and compassion. Compliance predicted more schooling and lower risk of unemployment, teenage fatherhood, and crime; compassion related to longer committed relationships. Findings highlight the value of studying personality at the facet level.

Finding the right interactional temperature: do colder patients need more warmth in physician communication style?

Being aware of which communication style should be adopted when facing more difficult patients is important for physicians; it can help prevent patient reactions of dissatisfaction, mistrust, or non-adherence that can be detrimental to the process of care. Past research suggests that less agreeable patients are especially critical towards, and reactive to, their physician's communication style, compared to more agreeable patients. On the basis of the literature, we hypothesized that less agreeable patients would react more negatively than agreeable patients to lower levels of affiliativeness (i.e., warmth, friendliness) in the physicians, in terms of satisfaction with the physician, trust in the physician, and determination to adhere to the treatment. Thirty-six general practitioners (20 men/16 women) working in their own practice in Switzerland were filmed while interacting with 69 patients (36 men/33 women) of different ages (M = 50.7; SD = 18.19; range: 18-84) and presenting different medical problems (e.g., back pain, asthma, hypertension, diabetes). After the medical interview, patients filled in questionnaires measuring their satisfaction with the physician, their trust in the physician, their determination to adhere to the treatment, and their trait of agreeableness. Physician affiliativeness was coded on the basis of the video recordings. Physician gender and dominance, patient gender and age, as well as the gravity of the patient's medical condition were introduced as control variables in the analysis. Results confirmed our hypothesis for satisfaction and trust, but not for adherence; less agreeable patients reacted more negatively (in terms of satisfaction and trust) than agreeable patients to lower levels of affiliativeness in their physicians. This study suggests that physicians should be especially attentive to stay warm and friendly with people low in agreeableness because those patients' satisfaction and trust might be more easily lowered by a cold or distant physician communication style.

Personality and physiological reactions to acute psychological stress

Stable personality traits have long been presumed to have biological substrates, although the evidence relating personality to biological stress reactivity is inconclusive. The present study examined, in a large middle aged cohort (N=352), the relationship between key personality traits and both cortisol and cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress. Salivary cortisol and cardiovascular activity were measured at rest and in response to a psychological stress protocol comprising 5min each of a Stroop task, mirror tracing, and a speech task. Participants subsequently completed the Big Five Inventory to assess neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Those with higher neuroticism scores exhibited smaller cortisol and cardiovascular stress reactions, whereas participants who were less agreeable and less open had smaller cortisol and cardiac reactions to stress. These associations remained statistically significant following adjustment for a range of potential confounding variables. Thus, a negative personality disposition would appear to be linked to diminished stress reactivity. These findings further support a growing body of evidence which suggests that blunted stress reactivity may be maladaptive.

Associations between personality traits, physical activity level, and muscle strength

Associations among personality as measured by the Five Factor Model, physical activity, and muscle strength were assessed using data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (N = 1220, age: mean = 58, SD = 16). General linear modeling with adjustment for age, sex, race, and body mass index, and bootstrapping for mediation were used. We found neuroticism and most of its facets to negatively correlate with strength. The extraversion domain and its facets of warmth, activity, and positive-emotions were positively correlated with strength, independent of covariates. Mediation analysis results suggest that these associations are partly explained by physical activity level. Findings extend the evidence of an association between personality and physical function to its strength component and indicate health behavior as an important pathway.