A Lifespan Perspective on the Interconnections Between Personality, Health, and Optimal Aging

Abstract

The seeds of Healthy Aging are sown much earlier in life, through the health choices we make in younger adulthood and midlife. Cumulative effects of good health behaviors throughout one's life often pay off in older adulthood, in the form of healthy aging (optimal physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning), whereas poorer choices earlier in life can lead to suboptimal or even pathological aging. Personality characteristics are important predictors of health behaviors and thus influence the course of healthy aging. Personality also impacts other precursors to healthy aging, such as educational attainment, work and career choices, financial success, relationship and family outcomes, and attitudes toward engagement and involvement in later life. Through multiple pathways, not only health and health behavior, personality predicts positive aging-related outcomes.