Low Life Course Socioeconomic Status (SES) is Associated with Negative NEO PI-R Personality Patterns
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Low Life Course Socioeconomic Status (SES) is Associated with Negative NEO PI-R Personality Patterns Charles R. Jonassaint & Ilene C. Siegler & John C. Barefoot & Christopher L. Edwards & Redford B. Williams
Published online: 12 December 2009 # International Society of Behavioral Medicine 2009
Abstract Background Low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with poor health. One potential pathway accounting for this relationship may be an association between low SES and personality characteristics that affect health. Methods Associations among parent's education, current SES (education and income), and personality were examined among 233 African Americans and Caucasian, male and female community volunteers. Results Using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to model neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness simultaneously, participant's education, household income, and father's and mother's education each had significant main effects on personality. When examining the life course—the combination of both current and childhood SES—distinctive patterns emerged for each domain, depending upon whether mother's or father's education was used to index childhood SES. When using mother's education as a childhood SES index, a C. R. Jonassaint : I. C. Siegler : R. B. Williams Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA I. C. Siegler : J. C. Barefoot : C. L. Edwards : R. B. Williams Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA C. L. Edwards : R. B. Williams Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA R. B. Williams (*) Department of Psychiatry, Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2969, Durham, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected]
high life course SES (high participant's SES/high mother's education) was associated with high extraversion and openness. Using father's education as a childhood SES index, a low life course SES (low participant's SES/low father's education) was associated with disproportionately high neuroticism and low conscientiousness. These effects did not differ by race or sex. Conclusion The implications of these findings for the role of personality in the SES–health relationship are discussed. Keywords Socioeconomic factors . Social class . Personality . Education
Introduction Individuals who have lived in a low socioeconomic status (SES) environment throughout both childhood and adulthood are more likely to experience poorer health than those who have lived in a high SES environment throughout the life span [1]. Poor health does not occur in isolation but is typically accompanied by negative behavioral factors occurring more frequently in low SES individuals [2]. Personality may be an important factor linking negative social experiences to maladaptive behaviors and poor health. Personality has long been implicated in health outcomes [3–6]. Several models of personality exist; however, it is argued that the
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