Does your partner's personality affect your health? Actor and partner effects of the big five personality traits

Lynn Williams; Sarah Ashford-Smith; Laura Cobban; Rebecca Fitzsimmons; Vedika Sukhatme; Simon Hunter

Does your partner's personality affect your health? Actor and partner effects of the big five personality traits

Lynn Williams, Sarah Ashford-Smith, Laura Cobban, Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Vedika Sukhatme, Simon Hunter

Psychology

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Abstract

The Big Five personality traits are powerful predictors of health and longevity. However, few studies have addressed partner effects of personality on health, whereby the personalities of people close to us affect our health. The current study examined the partner effects of Big Five traits on health behaviours, mood, and quality of life in romantic couples. Here, 182 romantic couples (N = 364 participants; Mage = 35.7 years) completed self-report measures of the Big Five (TIPI), health behaviours (GPHB), mood (DASS-21) and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). Data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and showed significant partner effects of conscientiousness on quality of life. No other partner effects of the Big Five were found. These findings suggest that there are specific, focussed associations between health and a romantic partner’s personality.

Original language	English
Journal	Personality and Individual Differences
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 4 Jun 2019

Keywords

personality traits
health
longevity

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Williams-etal-PAID-2019-Does-your-partners-personality-affect-your-healthAccepted author manuscript, 583 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

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AU - Williams, Lynn

AU - Ashford-Smith, Sarah

AU - Cobban, Laura

AU - Fitzsimmons, Rebecca

AU - Sukhatme, Vedika

AU - Hunter, Simon

PY - 2019/6/4

Y1 - 2019/6/4

N2 - The Big Five personality traits are powerful predictors of health and longevity. However, few studies have addressed partner effects of personality on health, whereby the personalities of people close to us affect our health. The current study examined the partner effects of Big Five traits on health behaviours, mood, and quality of life in romantic couples. Here, 182 romantic couples (N = 364 participants; Mage = 35.7 years) completed self-report measures of the Big Five (TIPI), health behaviours (GPHB), mood (DASS-21) and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). Data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and showed significant partner effects of conscientiousness on quality of life. No other partner effects of the Big Five were found. These findings suggest that there are specific, focussed associations between health and a romantic partner’s personality.

AB - The Big Five personality traits are powerful predictors of health and longevity. However, few studies have addressed partner effects of personality on health, whereby the personalities of people close to us affect our health. The current study examined the partner effects of Big Five traits on health behaviours, mood, and quality of life in romantic couples. Here, 182 romantic couples (N = 364 participants; Mage = 35.7 years) completed self-report measures of the Big Five (TIPI), health behaviours (GPHB), mood (DASS-21) and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). Data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and showed significant partner effects of conscientiousness on quality of life. No other partner effects of the Big Five were found. These findings suggest that there are specific, focussed associations between health and a romantic partner’s personality.

KW - personality traits

KW - health

KW - longevity

UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/personality-and-individual-differences

M3 - Article

JO - Personality and Individual Differences

JF - Personality and Individual Differences

SN - 0191-8869

ER -

Does your partner's personality affect your health? Actor and partner effects of the big five personality traits

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The dyadic effects of personality on health in romantic couples

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Does your partner's personality affect your health? Actor and partner effects of the big five personality traits

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

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The dyadic effects of personality on health in romantic couples

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