Personality and self-esteem in newlyweds

The current study investigated the relationships between several dimensions of self-esteem and the “Big Five” personality dimensions. Using a sample of 107 newlywed couples, we investigated whether the relationships identified in previous research replicated in this novel sample and whether the relationships between different dimensions of self-esteem (general, physical, social, and intellectual) and standings on the Big Five personality dimensions might be sex-differentiated. The results replicate many of the relationships between different dimensions of self-esteem and standings on the Big Five personality dimensions for both men and women. Previous work indicates that differences in personality between men and women may shape interactions with the environment differently and these different interactions may then shape self-esteem. None of these relationships was reliably sex-differentiated in the current research. Discussion addresses several limitations of this research and highlights directions for future research on the personality-self-esteem interface.     

Adverse developmental experiences and risky health behaviours among black South African university students

This study examined the relationship between adverse developmental experiences (ADEs) and risky health behaviours among a cross-sectional sample of black South African students (n = 393; females = 58%, M_age = 20.5 years, SD = 2.9). Binary logistic regression was used to model the association between categories of ADEs and risky health behaviours. Findings suggest individual ADEs to significantly predict risky health behaviours. The highest singular ADEs reported were being treated like a child (62%), parents being overprotective (59%), and being driven to be perfectionistic (58%). There was no indication of a general trend of ordered associations between the number of ADEs and risky health behaviours.     

Personality types and self-reported aggressiveness

Applying a person-centered approach, three personality types based on the NEO-FFI scales were identified in a sample of N = 141 participants by means of clustering methods. They were described as a resilient (low N, high E), a non-desirable (high N, low E, A, and C), and a reserved overcontrolled prototype (low E and O, high A and C). The prototypes were related to the level of aggressiveness, assessed by the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). Results indicate that the three clusters differ mainly in their levels of hostility, verbal aggressiveness, and with respect to anger. With respect to total aggressiveness, the non-desirable prototype displayed the highest and the reserved prototype the lowest AQ scores. The results are discussed in relation to studies based on a variable-centered approach. Possible implications for treatment and research are addressed.     

Associations between multiple health risk behaviors and mental health among Chinese college students

Although there is substantial evidence that health risk behaviors increase risks of premature morbidity and mortality, little is known about the multiple health risk behaviors in Chinese college students. Here, we investigated the prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors and its relation to mental health among Chinese college students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from May to June 2012. The students reported their health risk behaviors using self-administered questionnaires. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the self-rating depression scale and self-rating anxiety scale, respectively. A total of 2422 college students (1433 males) aged 19.7 ± 1.2 years were participated in the study. The prevalence of physical inactivity, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior, Internet addiction disorder (IAD), frequent alcohol use and current smoking was 62.0, 42.6, 29.8, 22.3, 11.6 and 9.3%, respectively. Significantly increased risks for depression and anxiety were found among students with frequent alcohol use, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior and IAD. Two-step cluster analysis identified two different clusters. Participants in the cluster with more unhealthy behaviors showed significantly increased risk for depression (odds ratio (OR): 2.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.83, 2.67) and anxiety (OR: 2.32; 95%CI: 1.85, 2.92). This study indicates that a relatively high prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors was found among Chinese college students. Furthermore, the clustering of health risk behaviors was significantly associated with increased risks for depression and anxiety.     

Personality types and behavioural activation and inhibition in adolescents

A hypothesis relating personality types to activity of the Behavioural Approach System (BAS) and the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) was tested in a sample of 1015 10–18-year-old adolescents. According to this hypothesis, Undercontrollers could be characterized as individuals with overactive BAS, Overcontrollers as individuals with overactive BIS, and Resilients as individuals with low activity of both systems. These predictions were generally confirmed. Psychometrically measured BAS and BIS appeared to be the strongest predictors of Undercontrolled and Overcontrolled prototypes, respectively. Resilients were characterized by low scores on both dimensions.     

Knowledge,beliefs, peer norms,and past behaviors as correlates of risky sexual behaviors among college students

Abstract

HIV/AIDS knowledge, age at onset of sexual activity, perceptions of personal risk and peer norms were explored as correlates for risky sexual behaviors among college students. Ninety-nine male and 185 female college students completed a 66-item questionnaire. A majority reported being sexually active with most in mutually monogamous relationships or not currently in a sexual relationship. Multiple regression correlation analyses showed knowledge about HIV/AIDS to be very high but that this knowledge did not independently relate to the extent of risky behaviors. Perceptions of risk were positively related to number of partners and single-time partners but not condom usage. In contrast to previous studies, perceived peer norms did not independently relate to behaviors. Instead, age at first intercourse was found to have substantial overlap with current perceptions, attitudes, and likelihood for engaging in risky behaviors. The necessity for including previous behaviors in analyses of the impact of attitudes and perceived norms on behavioral intentions is discussed.     

Personality correlates of risky health outcomes: Findings from a large Internet study

Numerous studies have documented the effects of personality on health outcomes. However, which traits are most relevant to health, and the precise magnitude of their effects, is inconsistent across studies. The present study used a large sample (N = 460,172) to replicate and extend the relations between the Big Five and three health-related outcomes: self-reported health, body mass index, and substance use. Low Conscientiousness predicted all outcomes, indicating that individuals who are less responsible and less self-controlled tend to report poorer health, be more overweight, and engage in more substance use. Individuals who were more emotionally unstable (high Neuroticism) reported poorer health, and individuals prone to seek out social experiences and rewards (high Extraversion) engaged in more frequent substance use.     

The good,the bad (and the ugly): The role of curiosity in subjective well‐being and risky behaviors among adolescents

Previous studies have shown that enhanced trait curiosity has positive influence on well‐being. It remains an open question, however, whether curiosity has any detrimental effects on behavioral outcomes in adolescence. The main aim of this research was to investigate the role of trait curiosity in the prediction of risky behavior engagement and subjective well‐being (SWB) among adolescents. A total of 371 Serbian adolescents (mean age 15.5, SD = 0.57) participated in the 5‐month follow up study. The results showed that the embracing component of curiosity (but not stretching) predicted risky behavior engagement, while the stretching component of curiosity (but not embracing) predicted positive affect. In addition, neither embracing nor stretching was a significant predictor of negative affect and life satisfaction. The results of this study call into question the conceptualization of curiosity as a completely positive emotional‐motivational system, and suggest that curiosity can contribute to negative outcomes in adolescence.     

Personality and stress

Recent years have witnessed an upsurge of interest in how personality affects the stress process. This paper reports on a broad spectrum of findings on the relationships between personality and stress, taking transactional stress theory as the point of departure. A first part outlines the different approaches stress research has taken within personality psychology as opposed to research based on transactional stress theory and discusses the debate between these two paradigms. The second part gives an overview of empirical findings, with a focus on the Big Five personality factors, in order to demonstrate that personality affects the stress process in every aspect. The discussion suggests that we address unresolved problems of transactional stress research in the framework of interactionist personality psychology. Special attention ought to be given to developing a better understanding of situational characteristics, stress-producing mechanisms, and the functions of situational choices and coping strategies for personality.     

Personality and riskier sexual behaviour: Motivational mediators

A model was hypothesized whereby personality traits influenced motives for having sex, which influenced self-determination of safer sex, which influenced riskier sexual behaviour. The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The participants were 18 to 21-year-old university students, 200 of whom were sexually experienced. The model was tested using structural equation modelling. According to the final model, autonomous motivation for safer sex reduced riskier sexual behaviour, whereas controlled motivation had no effect. Agreeableness reduced riskier behaviour by increasing autonomous motivation for safer sex, an effect mediated by intimacy motive for having sex. Conscientiousness reduced riskier sexual behaviour by increasing autonomous motivation for safer sex. Enhancement motive for having sex increased riskier behaviour. Such individual differences in personality and motivational processes should be taken into account when designing interventions to reduce riskier sexual behaviour.     

No evidence for a General Factor of Personality in the HEXACO Personality Inventory

There have been an increasing number of articles that have speculated on the existence of a General Factor of Personality (GFP) similar to ‘g’ in intelligence research. In this study, I provide evidence that this general factor may be an artifact of the personality instrument used. Specifically, in two samples I show that depending on the type of analysis used there is either no evidence for a GFP in the HEXACO Personality Inventory or the GFP is found to be uncorrelated to GFPs based on Big Five or FFM instruments.     

Personality, risky driving and accident involvement among Norwegian drivers

Despite the large body of studies, the role of personality in risk research still remains debatable and unclear. The objective of this study was to identify determinants of road user behaviour and accident involvement with the aim of developing effective accident countermeasures. Examining relationships between personality, risky driving and involvement in accidents can open up the possibility of early identification of those more likely to be involved in accidents. The aim is not to influence personality as such, but to develop measures constructed for specific groups. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey carried out among a sample of Norwegian drivers in year 2000 and 2001 (n=2605). The Norwegian Directorate of Public Roads financed the study. The questionnaire included measures of risky driving, accident involvement, normlessness, sensation-seeking, locus of control and driver anger. Results showed that those who scored high on sensation seeking, normlessness and driver anger reported more frequent risky driving compared to those who scored low on these variables. They were more often involved in both speeding and ignorance of traffic rules. Respondents involved in risk taking-behaviour experienced near-accidents and crashes leading to both injuries and material damage more often than other drivers.     

A General Factor of Personality (GFP) from two meta-analyses of the Big Five: and

In two studies, we used structural equation models to test the hypothesis that a General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy of personality. In Study 1, we found a GFP that explained 45% of the reliable variance in a model that went from the Big Five to the Big Two to the Big One in the 14 studies of inter-scale correlations (N = 4496) assembled by Digman (1997). A higher order factor of Alpha/Stability was defined by Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Agreeableness, with loadings of from 0.61 to 0.70, while Beta/Plasticity was defined by Openness and Extraversion with loadings of 0.55 and 0.77. In turn, the GFP was defined by Alpha and Beta with loadings of 0.67. In Study 2, a GFP explained 44% of the reliable variance in a similar model using data from a published meta-analysis of the Big Five (N = 4000) by Mount, Barrick, Scullen, and Rounds (2005). Strong general factors such as these, based on large data sets with good model fits that cross validate perfectly, are unlikely to be due to artifacts and response sets.     

Personality and gender differences in global perspective

Men's and women's personalities appear to differ in several respects. Social role theories of development assume gender differences result primarily from perceived gender roles, gender socialization and sociostructural power differentials. As a consequence, social role theorists expect gender differences in personality to be smaller in cultures with more gender egalitarianism. Several large cross‐cultural studies have generated sufficient data for evaluating these global personality predictions. Empirically, evidence suggests gender differences in most aspects of personality—Big Five traits, Dark Triad traits, self‐esteem, subjective well‐being, depression and values—are conspicuously larger in cultures with more egalitarian gender roles, gender socialization and sociopolitical gender equity. Similar patterns are evident when examining objectively measured attributes such as tested cognitive abilities and physical traits such as height and blood pressure. Social role theory appears inadequate for explaining some of the observed cultural variations in men's and women's personalities. Evolutionary theories regarding ecologically‐evoked gender differences are described that may prove more useful in explaining global variation in human personality.     

Personality and personal network type

The association between personality and personal relationships is mostly studied within dyadic relationships. We examined these variables within the context of personal network types. We used Latent Class Analysis to identify groups of students with similar role relationships with three focal figures. We performed Latent Class Logistic Regression to explore the relationships of the latent classes with the Big Five personality factors. Personality was assessed with the Five Factor Personality Inventory. We found three personal network types: a primarily family oriented network, a primarily peer oriented network, and a mixed family/peer oriented network. We found significant associations between personality and personal network type. Extraverted students were more likely to have a primarily peer oriented network relative to a primarily family oriented network. Autonomous students were more likely to have a primarily family oriented network relative to a primarily peer oriented network. Autonomous students were also more likely to have a mixed family/peer oriented network relative to a primarily peer oriented network. Conscientious students were more likely to have a primarily family oriented network relative to a mixed family/peer oriented network.     

Differential relationships in the association of the Big Five personality traits with positive mental health and psychopathology

According to the two continua model of mental health, psychopathology and positive mental health (emotional, psychological, and social well-being) are related but distinct continua. This study investigates the two continua model by examining whether psychopathology and positive mental health show differential associations with the Big Five personality traits. The paper draws on data of the representative LISS panel (CentERdata). Participants (N = 1161; age 18-88) filled out questionnaires on personality, psychopathology, and positive mental health. Personality traits were differentially related to psychopathology and positive mental health, supporting the two continua model. Emotional stability (reversed neuroticism) is the main correlate of psychopathology, whereas the personality traits extraversion and agreeableness are uniquely associated with positive mental health.     

Heritabilities of Common and Measure-Specific Components of the Big Five Personality Factors

Three different measures of the Big Five personality dimensions were developed from the battery of questionnaires used in the National Merit Twin Study: one from trait self-rating scales, one from personality inventory items, and one from an adjective check list. Behavior-genetic models were fit to what the three measures had in common, and to the variance distinctive to each. The results of the model fitting agreed with other recent studies in showing the Big Five dimensions to be substantially and about equally heritable, with little or no contribution of shared family environment. Heritabilities for males and females did not differ significantly. For Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, some effect of shared environment was found for measure-specific variance on the personality inventory, and for Extraversion and Neuroticism, models involving nonadditive genetic variance or twin contrast effects provided slightly better fits.     

Associations between sexual sensation seeking and AIDS-related knowledge,attitudes and behaviors among young men who have sex with men in China

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have become high risk groups for HIV infection in China. Recent researches suggest that sexual sensation seeking is significantly associated with AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, but the relationship is not clear in the field of YMSM in China. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sexual sensation seeking and AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among YMSM in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from May to November 2013. 403 YMSM were recruited and 373 of them completed the questionnaire. Regression analyses indicated that YMSM with high sexual sensation seeking score are more likely to have low awareness of knowledge and negative attitude about condom use, as well as more risky sexual behaviors.