# Prenatal and Early Life Antecedents of Personality: An Intergenerational Lifespan Approach

> **NIH NIH R01** · FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $642,203

## Abstract

Project Summary.
This research takes an intergenerational lifespan perspective to the development of trait psychological
functioning. There are well-documented connections between Conscientiousness and Neuroticism and aging-
related outcomes: Individuals who score higher in Conscientiousness and lower in Neuroticism have lower risk
of Alzheimer’s disease and greater longevity. The association between these traits and better health begins
early in life and persist across the lifespan. Early interventions to promote healthier trait development will lead
to broad improvements in health and well-being and ultimately better aging outcomes. Yet, little is known about
the early environmental origins of these traits that would be promising targets of intervention. Likewise,
relatively little is known about how biological factors contribute to trait development across the lifespan. The
present research brings together three established longitudinal studies of well-characterized cohorts to identify
prenatal and childhood environmental factors (broadly construed) that contribute to the development of
personality, the biological mediators of these associations, and the dynamics between prenatal/childhood
factors and personality on a consequential health outcome – the development and aging of cognitive
functioning across the lifespan. Together, these three cohorts cover conception through older adulthood: The
Longitudinal Study of Australian Children covers pregnancy through age 12, the Avon Longitudinal Study of
Parents and Children covers pregnancy through young adulthood, and the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of
Diversity across the Life Span covers middle through older adulthood. This research addresses three specific
aims: (1) To identify maternal prenatal behavioral and clinical antecedents of temperament and personality
traits and to test biological markers as one mechanism through which prenatal factors contribute to trait
psychological functioning, (2) To identify childhood neighborhood antecedents of trait psychological functioning
in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood and to test biological markers as one mechanism through which
neighborhood factors contribute to trait psychological functioning, and (3) To test whether personality traits
mediate and/or moderate the relation between the prenatal/childhood environment and cognitive functioning
across the lifespan. The outcomes of this research will lead to new knowledge on the origins of the traits most
relevant for healthy aging and suggest promising new targets for intervention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10152495
- **Project number:** 5R01AG053297-05
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Angelina R Sutin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $642,203
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10152495

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10152495, Prenatal and Early Life Antecedents of Personality: An Intergenerational Lifespan Approach (5R01AG053297-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10152495. Licensed CC0.

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