Healthy living
Anti-ageing
Why the good guys may live longer
Being conscientious can have a real positive effect on your health, say researchers
‘Conscientious, hard-working and always does his homework.’ If this was you on your school reports, you could well live up to four years longer than any of your more impulsive, slapdash classmates, according to American scientists reporting in the journal Health Psychology.
The researchers pooled results from 20 studies involving a total of 8,900 people to see if there was any link between personality and lifespan. The studies each used a standard psychological test to assess various personality traits and also recorded age at death.
Lead researcher, Dr Howard Friedman from the University of California says, ‘Highly conscientious people live on average two to four years longer. There is evidence for several sorts of reasons. Conscientious folks are less likely to smoke, drink to excess or take too many risks. But it is also true that conscientious folks lead life patterns that are more stable and less stressful.’
The pooled findings were put through various statistical analyses which showed that people who were the least conscientious were 50 per cent more likely to die at any given age than those who scored highly for conscientiousness.
The study singled out different strands of conscientiousness, with high-achieving conscientious people as those most likely to live the longest. Organised, tidy people who lived structured, well-ordered lives where the next longest survivors, followed by people who tested positively as reliable and responsible. The researchers identified this latter group as being the pillars of a community, ‘who contribute time and energy to society, co-operate with colleagues and neighbours, and are trustworthy,’ says co-author Dr Margaret Kern.
‘Personality is important to health,’ she says. ‘In the past, there has been a lot of focus on how negative traits, such as hostility, stress, and depression, can lead to disease. Our results suggest that this positive trait of conscientiousness can potentially have a positive impact on health.’
The study reflects a growing body of research linking conscientiousness with positive health outcomes. A Chicago study assessed the conscientiousness levels of nearly 1,000 elderly but otherwise healthy nuns, priests and monks. Using a 12-item questionnaire, participants had to rate their agreement with statements such as ‘I am a productive person who always gets the job done’ on a scale of one to five. Annual follow up tests were done to measure possible dementia onset over the next 12 years. By the end of the study, those who had scored most highly in conscientiousness were 89 per cent less likely to have developed Alzheimer’s disease.
The authors of the study, published in the Archives of General Psychology, defined conscientiousness as 'will, work and dependability with a tendency to control impulses and be goal-directed'.
But if your school reports were less than glowing, is it too late to change for the better? Not necessarily, says Dr Kern: ‘There is some evidence that people can become more conscientious, especially as they enter stable jobs or good marriages. We think our findings can challenge people to think about their lives and what may result from the actions they do. Even though conscientiousness cannot be changed in the short term, improvements can emerge over the long run as individuals enter responsible relationships, careers, and associations.’
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Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
