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. 2017 Mar;32(2):131-138.
doi: 10.1037/pag0000158.

Personality and actigraphy-measured physical activity in older adults

Ashley Artese  1 , Desirae Ehley  2 , Angelina R Sutin  2 , Antonio Terracciano  3
Affiliations

Personality and actigraphy-measured physical activity in older adults

Ashley Artese et al. Psychol Aging. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

Most studies on personality and physical activity have relied on self-report measures. This study examined the relation between Five Factor Model personality traits and objective physical activity in older adults. Sixty-nine participants (Mage = 80.2 years; SD = 7.1) wore the ActiGraph monitor for 7 days and completed the NEO Personality Inventory-3 First Half. Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were associated with more moderate physical activity and more steps per day whereas Neuroticism was inversely related to these physical activity measures (βs > .20). The associations for Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were attenuated by approximately 20-40% when accounting for disease burden and body mass index but were essentially unchanged for Extraversion and Agreeableness. These findings confirm self-report evidence that personality traits are associated with physical activity levels in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatterplot of step counts and the five major dimensions of personality with zero-order regression lines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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