Emotionally stable, intelligent me live longer: the Vietnam Experience Study
Emotionally stable, intelligent me live longer: the Vietnam Experience Study
Objectives: To determine whether neuroticism, cognitive ability, and their interaction predicted mortality and to test whether neuroticism or cognitive ability effects were mediated by socioeconomic status (SES), physical health, mental health, or health behaviors. Methods: Participants were 4200 men followed up for > 15 years. Participants took part in telephone interviews and medical and psychological evaluations. The neuroticism measure was based on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, which was administered during the psychological examination. Cognitive ability was measured via the Army General Technical Test given at induction and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests administered during the psychological examination, approximately 17 years later. We used covariance structure modeling to analyze the data because it enabled us to conduct Cox proportional hazards analyses with latent variables and mediator variables. Results: Even after adjusting for age, ethnicity, and marital status, high neuroticism and low cognitive ability were independent mortality risk factors. A significant interaction indicated that participants high in neuroticism and low in cognitive ability were particularly at risk. In a second series of models, we examined whether education, income, seven physical health measures, two mental health measures, drinking, and smoking were related to mortality. SES and physical health variables attenuated the effect of cognitive ability but not that of neuroticism. A third series of models revealed that cognitive ability was related to mortality via its direct effects on income and health. Conclusions: The effects of high neuroticism, low cognitive ability, and their interaction predict mortality. Cognitive ability effects are mediated by health, income, and education.
neuroticism, intelligence, mortality, Vietnam Experience Study, mediator, moderator
385-394
Weiss, Alexander
c6f42bcd-c721-4862-9d31-7ee4598aa4d7
Gale, Catharine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Batty, G.David
b592fe37-9757-4ea7-820b-b3d7896f9cf2
Deary, Ian J.
027158ae-fbfb-40ea-98b1-32d2690499ac
Weiss, Alexander
c6f42bcd-c721-4862-9d31-7ee4598aa4d7
Gale, Catharine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Batty, G.David
b592fe37-9757-4ea7-820b-b3d7896f9cf2
Deary, Ian J.
027158ae-fbfb-40ea-98b1-32d2690499ac
Weiss, Alexander, Gale, Catharine R., Batty, G.David and Deary, Ian J.
(2009)
Emotionally stable, intelligent me live longer: the Vietnam Experience Study.
Psychosomatic Medicine, 71 (4), .
(doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e318198de78).
(Submitted)
Abstract
Objectives: To determine whether neuroticism, cognitive ability, and their interaction predicted mortality and to test whether neuroticism or cognitive ability effects were mediated by socioeconomic status (SES), physical health, mental health, or health behaviors. Methods: Participants were 4200 men followed up for > 15 years. Participants took part in telephone interviews and medical and psychological evaluations. The neuroticism measure was based on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, which was administered during the psychological examination. Cognitive ability was measured via the Army General Technical Test given at induction and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests administered during the psychological examination, approximately 17 years later. We used covariance structure modeling to analyze the data because it enabled us to conduct Cox proportional hazards analyses with latent variables and mediator variables. Results: Even after adjusting for age, ethnicity, and marital status, high neuroticism and low cognitive ability were independent mortality risk factors. A significant interaction indicated that participants high in neuroticism and low in cognitive ability were particularly at risk. In a second series of models, we examined whether education, income, seven physical health measures, two mental health measures, drinking, and smoking were related to mortality. SES and physical health variables attenuated the effect of cognitive ability but not that of neuroticism. A third series of models revealed that cognitive ability was related to mortality via its direct effects on income and health. Conclusions: The effects of high neuroticism, low cognitive ability, and their interaction predict mortality. Cognitive ability effects are mediated by health, income, and education.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Submitted date: 2009
Keywords:
neuroticism, intelligence, mortality, Vietnam Experience Study, mediator, moderator
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 71738
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/71738
ISSN: 0033-3174
PURE UUID: ff2ac7ea-1416-4f39-85f2-83411ba69292
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 22 Dec 2009
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:38
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Alexander Weiss
Author:
G.David Batty
Author:
Ian J. Deary
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics