Personality, Health and Well-Being among Different Age Groups

Abstract

Recent epidemiological studies have reported consistent relationships between psychological factors, including personality, and health outcomes among different age groups. In this context, personality refers to the psychological qualities that contribute to an individual's enduring and distinctive patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving. The relationships between personality and longevity, chronic disease, cognitive decline, mental health, physical fitness, and subjective well-being have already been clarified. However, there are some health outcomes in which personality is considered to play an important role (e.g., social isolation, caregiving burden, coping skills for stressful life events, and frailty), but the detailed pathway involved remains unclear. This Topic aims to contribute to the knowledge base on the relationship between individual psychological factors (including personality) and health and well-being, in addition to elucidating the mechanisms underlying these relationships (e.g., mediation processes and moderating effects), by presenting research investigating the relationships between personality, health, and well-being among different age groups (including children and adolescents, adults, and older adults) and in various contexts (e.g., in the community, at home, and at school).