Does childhood personality predict longevity?
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Long-term prospective cohort follow-up study across seven decades
PubMed 8355139 · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.65.1.176
What was done
Data from 1,178 male and female participants in the 7-decade longitudinal study initiated by L. M. Terman in 1921 were evaluated. Statistical survival analyses were performed to test whether major personality dimensions measured in childhood predicted longevity and survival into middle and old age.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical estimates, hazard ratios, or confidence intervals. Conscientiousness in childhood was clearly related to survival in middle to old age. Contrary to expectation, cheerfulness (optimism and sense of humor) was inversely related to longevity.
Why it matters
The study shows that personality traits assessed in early life correlate with survival decades later, supporting conscientiousness as a long-term prognostic factor and challenging assumptions about the health benefits of cheerfulness.
Limits
No effect sizes, p-values, or survival metrics are reported in the abstract. The cohort originated from a specific historical and socio-demographic group selected in 1921 (the Terman sample of gifted children), limiting generalizability to contemporary and diverse populations. Potential confounding factors and intermediate behavioral or environmental mechanisms were not detailed.
Cited by
- supports A long-term longevity study found that conscientiousness was the primary personality predictor of longevity, while highly cheerful or unworried individuals died earlier from accidents or preventable illnesses.