Is being conscientiousness the Holy Grail for a long and healthy life? Some scientists think so

So what makes a healthy personality? Psychologists have been studying this important question, and at least two of these five traits appear to be directly related to physical well-being and longevity: Emotional stability and conscientiousness. More to the point, wellness is linked to changes in these traits over time.

The blog We're Only Human at PyschologicalScience.org has a detailed analysis of this issue:

Consider emotional stability. Or, rather, its polar opposite, which psychologists call neuroticism. Neuroticism is the tendency toward hand wringing and negative thinking. People with a heavy does of neuroticism don’t handle stress well at all, and are often anxious and moody. Such negativity has been linked to increased mortality in a number of studies, but for Purdue University psychologist Daniel Mroczek this finding raised as many questions as it answered. Does it follow that this inherited trait is a death sentence? Or can people with this propensity change their destiny?

Mroczek decided to explore this idea. Using a standard measure of neuroticism, he tracked more than 1600 men over 12 years, recording not only how neurotic they were at the start but also whether they got more or less neurotic over time. He also looked at mortality risk for these same men over an 18 year span. As reported in the May issue of the journal Psychological Science, being more neurotic than average was not enough in and of itself to predict an early death. But being a worrier and getting more stressed out over time was a ticket to an early grave. In other words, these men—all middle age or older to begin with—didn’t grow old gracefully. They got more and more fretful, and this downward spiral increased their risk for dying, mostly from cancer and heart disease.

LifeTwo covered this issue in our interview with Dr. Mroczek here but the We're Only Human blog digs even deeper noting that even those with "fretful temperaments" will have survival rates similar to emotionally stable men if they are able to mellow out over time. Furthermore, citing the work of Brent Roberts of the University of Illinois they delved into how positive changes of conscientiousness—orderliness, industry, reliability, conventionality, and other traits can be directly related to improved health and longevity.

First, conscientious people create life paths for themselves that contribute to better health. That is, they are more successful in their careers, earn more money, have more stable families, and socialize more—all factors known to be linked to health. For example, Roberts tracked college-educated women from age 21 to age 52, and found that women who had been more conscientious in college were less likely to divorce and had more children than women who had been less centered. Other studies have linked conscientiousness to job stability and job satisfaction.

In addition, industrious and reliable people simply do fewer stupid things. They don’t smoke as much, drink as much, drive as fast, have sex with the wrong partners—all those things that we know kill us. This may seem self-evident at first, but what’s not is the link between healthy living and changes in personality. It appears that young adults especially start trying on certain roles—parent, reliable employee—and “watching themselves.” If they like what they see (and they often do), they in effect add a trait to their psychological repertoire that wasn’t there before. They change their opinion of themselves. So in a sense, conscientiousness shapes experience, which in turn helps people mature and become more solid. This is hopeful news for those parents despairing over their slacker teenager.

The effect of conscientiousness on longevity is not trivial. Indeed Roberts estimates that being a responsible person is as powerful as cardiovascular disease in determining how long we live. Psychologists have long suspected that a single common psychological trait may underlie all healthy choices, and conscientiousness is emerging as a strong candidate for that H factor.

Their post ends with this advice if you are interested in having a long and healthy life: Act as if you are solid and centered.