Jeffrey H. Herbst

Personality at Midlife: Stability, Intrinsic Maturation, and Response to Life Events

Although developmental theories and popular accounts suggest that midlife is a time of turmoil and change, longitudinal studies of personality traits have generally found stability of rank order and little or no change in mean levels. Using data from 2,274 men and women in their 40s retested after 6 to 9 years, the present study examined two hypotheses: (a) that retest correlations should be no higher than about .60 and (b) that there should be small decreases in Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness, and small increases in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The study also explored the effects of recalled life events on subsequent personality scores. Results did not support the first hypothesis; uncorrected retest correlations uniformly exceeded .60. This was true for all personality traits, including facets of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness not previously included in longitudinal studies. The hypothesized decreases in Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness were found, but Conscientiousness showed a small decrease instead of the predicted increase. Life events in general showed very little influence on the levels of personality traits, although some effects were seen for changes in job and marital status that warrant further research.

The replicability and utility of three personality types

Personality types are construed as constellations of features that uniquely define discrete groups of individuals. Types are conceptually convenient because they summarize many traits in a single label, but until recently most researchers agreed that there was little evidence for the existence of discrete personality types. Several groups of researchers have now proposed replicable, empirical person clusters based on measures of the Five‐Factor Model. We consider several methodological artifacts that might be responsible for these types, and conclude that these artifacts may contribute to the replicability of types, but cannot entirely account for it. The present research attempts to replicate these types in four large and diverse adult samples: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (N = 1856); the East Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area study (N = 486); the University of North Carolina Alumni Heart Study (N = 2420); and an HIV risk reduction intervention study (N = 274). A clear replication (kappa = 0.60) of the proposed types was found in only one sample by one standard of comparison. The failure of the three personality types to replicate in three of the four samples leads to the conclusion that they are not robust empirical entities. Type membership predicted psychosocial functioning and ego resiliency and control, but only because it summarized trait standing; dimensional trait measures were consistently better predictors. Nevertheless, while the types do not refer to distinct, homogeneous classes of persons, they do have utility as convenient labels summarizing combinations of traits that relate to important outcomes. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Antisocial personality disorder among drug abusers: Relations to other personality diagnoses and the five-factor model of personality

Antisocial personality disorder among drug abusers has been associated with poor drug abuse treatment outcome and greater human immunodeficiency virus infection risk compared with drug abusers without the disorder. Despite this, less is known about the personality trait dimensions of antisocial drug abusers, or about the prevalence of axis comorbidity among this group. Similarly, little is known about the personality trait dimensions of antisocial drug abusers compared with those with axis II diagnoses other than antisocial or those with no personality diagnosis. The present study compared the personality traits of 203 outpatient opioid drug abusers categorized into either a pure antisocial group (i.e., antisocial diagnosis only), mixed antisocial group (i.e., antisocial plus another axis II diagnosis), other axis II group (i.e., axis II diagnosis other than antisocial), or a non-axis II group. Psychiatric diagnoses were made using a structured interview and personality traits of the four groups were compared using a self-report measure of the five-factor model of personality. As predicted, the mixed group was significantly more prone to neuroticism compared with the pure group, with higher scores on the vulnerability to stress and hostility facets. The mixed group also had a greater score on the neuroticism domain compared with the non-axis II group, with higher scores on five of the six facets. Significant differences were also found on agreeableness. The mixed group had lower scores on this domain (i.e., had higher interpersonal antagonism) compared with the non-axis II group. Somewhat surprisingly, the agreeableness score for the pure group was not significantly different from those of the remaining three groups. Also, no significant differences were found on the personality domains of extraversion, openness to experience, or conscientiousness among any of the four groups.

Personality Psychology and Problem Behaviors: HIV Risk and the Five-Factor Model

Studies of personality and problem behaviors may begin with analyses of the problem and develop hypotheses about personality traits that might be relevant; or they may begin with models of personality and explore links to behavior. Because it is well validated and relatively comprehensive, the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality lends itself to systematic exploratory studies that may sometimes lead to unanticipated findings. In this article, we review a program of research in a high-risk, disadvantaged population that illustrates the utility of the FFM in understanding health risk behavior. Previous analyses showed that behavior associated with the risk of HIV infection can be predicted from the personality dispositions of Neuroticism and (low) Conscientiousness.

Systolic blood pressure within an intermediate range may reduce memory loss in an elderly hypertensive cohort.

The objective of this study was to determine if maintenance of systolic blood pressure (BP) within a high range or low range among treated hypertensive patients increases the risk of memory decline. Biennial neuropsychological evaluations were performed on 158 hypertensive subjects. Decline/year was measured on the Cued Selective Reminding test (total free recall and delayed recall) in three systolic BP groups (low—i.e., mean systolic BP during the follow-up period < 135 mm Hg; intermediate—i.e., 135 mm Hg ≤ mean systolic BP ≤ 150 mm Hg; high—i.e., mean systolic BP > 150 mm Hg). In total free recall, the three systolic BP groups had significantly different declines per year (P = .02), with patients in the high subgroup showing the greatest decline. In delayed recall, the three sys tolic BP groups also showed significantly different declines per year (P = .04), with patients in the low subgroup having the greatest decline. Chronically elevated systolic BP > 150 mm Hg is associated with accelerated memory decline compared to older treated hypertensive patients with systolic BP in an intermediate range. Chronically maintained systolic BP within a low normal range < 135 mm Hg in older treated hypertensive subjects may be asso ciated with accelerated memory decline, specifically in a test of delayed memory recall, compared to patients with systolic BP in an intermediate range. Optimal regulation of systolic BP may be a potential modifiable risk factor to prevent or minimize memory loss in older hypertensive patients. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1999; 12:1-6).

Personality characteristics and sexual functioning of 188 cross-dressing men.

The literature on cross-dressing men has been primarily limited to self-identified patients at psychiatric clinics who are in distress. To understand the personality trait characteristics and sexual functioning of nonpatient cross-dressers, 188 non-treatment-seeking male cross-dressers completed the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Respondents were classified as transvestites (TV; N = 83), transgenderists (TG; N = 61), or transsexuals (TS; N = 44) based on self-report and the nature of their cross-gender activities (e.g., use of female hormones, desire for sex reassignment, and amount of time spent in female role). These diagnostic groups did not differ on the five broad personality domains of the NEO-PI, but TS men scored higher than TV and TG men on the Aesthetics facet scale of Openness to Experience (O). In terms of the DSFI scales, TS men reported lower sexual drive than TV and TG men, and TS and TG men exhibited greater psychiatric symptoms and feminine gender role, and poorer body image than TV men. Upon exclusion of a group of 49 respondents who previously sought treatment for psychological problems, no significant differences emerged among the three diagnostic groups on the NEO-PI domain and facet scales. Consideration of the DSFI scales showed that TS men experienced less sexual drive, more psychiatric symptoms, and a greater feminine gender role than TV or TG men. This study suggests that cross-dressers not seen for clinical reasons are virtually indistinguishable from non-cross-dressing men using a measure of personality traits, a sexual functioning inventory, and measures of psychological distress. These results emphasize the importance of using clinical significance criteria as required by DSM-IV guidelines before diagnosing men who cross-dress with an axis I disorder.

Erratum: The replicability and utility of three personality types (European Journal of Personality 16:S1 (S73-S87))

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in European Journal of Personality, Vol. 16, No. S1, S73–S87.