Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6670-6995

Date Available

4-21-2020

Year of Publication

2020

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Thomas A. Widiger

Abstract

Traits from dimensional models of normal-range personality have been shown to predict physical health outcomes including health behaviors, health perceptions, disease, and mortality. Maladaptive traits of personality disorders may predict even more variance in physical health indicators. Dimensional models of maladaptive personality traits are replacing categorical models of personality disorder, and the five-factor model of personality disorder (FFMPD) has been shown to be a useful dimensional model of maladaptive traits. However, there has been little work investigating the criterion validity of the FFMPD for predicting physical health indicators. The present study examines FFMPD scales in the prediction of health behaviors, heath perceptions, and inflammatory biomarkers across two timepoints in a large, representative community sample of older adults. Findings indicate that the FFMPD scales explain a moderate amount of variance in the physical health variables across time. Exploratory analyses indicate that the FFMPD traits have incremental validity over covariates, normal-range personality traits, and categorical personality disorders. Results are considered in the broader context of the personality and health literature and future research directions are discussed.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.239

Funding Information

This research was supported by the National Institute of Aging under Award Number F31AG055233 (2017-2020). The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Download

Share

COinS