Big Five Personality and Health in Adults with and Without Cancer

Overview

Journal J Health Psychol

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialty Psychology

Date 2018 Jan 23

PMID 29355050

Citations 16

Authors

Catherine Rochefort

Michael Hoerger

Nicholas A Turiano

Paul Duberstein

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Personality is associated with health, but examinations in patients with illnesses are lacking. We aimed to determine whether personality-physical health associations differed between community and cancer samples. This cross-sectional study involved 168 participants without cancer, 212 men with prostate cancer, and 55 women with breast cancer. We examined whether the Big Five personality dimensions were associated with health behaviors and multiple health indicators. Higher conscientiousness and lower neuroticism were associated with better health behaviors and health ( = .31), with few differences between community and cancer samples. Findings call for research on the implications of personality in patients with serious illnesses.

Citing Articles

Relationships for Women with Breast Cancer Among Extraversion and Neuroticism Personality, Stress, Demoralization, Sleep Disturbance, and Psychological Well-Being: A Structural Equation Model.

Yeh M, Li R Cancers (Basel). 2025; 17(3).

PMID: 39941770 PMC: 11816334. DOI: 10.3390/cancers17030400.

Personality traits of women with hereditary risk for breast/ovarian cancer versus obstetric history and cancer preventive behaviors.

Zurawska J, Pieta B, Wilczak M, Wojciechowska M, Rzymski P, Pieczykolan A Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):3218.

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Does Personality Influence the Quality of Life of Patients with Brain Tumors Treated with Radiotherapy?.

Pilarska A, Pieczynska A, Adamska K, Hojan K Cancers (Basel). 2025; 17(1.

PMID: 39796758 PMC: 11719694. DOI: 10.3390/cancers17010131.

Actor-Partner Effects of Personality Traits and Psychological Flexibility on Psychological Distress Among Couples Coping with Cancer.

Bar-Moshe-Lavi L, Hertz-Palmor N, Sella-Shalom K, Braun M, Pizem N, Shacham-Shmueli E Behav Sci (Basel). 2025; 14(12.

PMID: 39767302 PMC: 11672950. DOI: 10.3390/bs14121161.

The Association Between Personality Traits and Health-Related Quality of Life and the Mediating Role of Smoking: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Chen J, Wan J, Wu Y, Gan L, Li H, Zhou Y JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2024; 10:e51416.

PMID: 38989838 PMC: 11240240. DOI: 10.2196/51416.

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