# Personality and Well-being Trajectories in Adulthood

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $332,257

## Abstract

Personality traits have emerged as important predictors of health outcomes, including mortality risk. Recent
findings, including our own from the previous project period, also show that health behaviors such as smoking
and substance use are important mediators of the personality-health association. These prior findings can be
enhanced, deepened and translated in 3 ways. First, dynamic modeling of longitudinal personality and health
data can deepen our understanding of the association between the two. Second, replicability, reproducibility
and cumulative science in personality and health can be enhanced through the use of multiple data sets in an
Integrated Data Analysis (IDA) format. Third, extension of this work toward health care utilization outcomes can
help translate research on personality and health into useful tools that health care providers can utilize. In this
competing renewal, we propose to do each of these three. We request support for further data analyses within
the Boston VA Normative Aging Study (NAS), as well as to obtain one more wave of longitudinal data (Aim 1).
Recognizing that the NAS is rapidly decreasing in size due to high mean age and increased mortality, we are
also requesting support to expand our studies to 13 other longitudinal studies that are part of the IALSA, or
Integrated Analysis of Longitudinal Studies of Aging (Aim 2). This will transition our research program toward a
large group of ongoing longitudinal studies. It will also enhance replicability of our findings through use of
multiple datasets. Lastly, we will move to a translational focus by conducting studies of personality and health
care utilization (Aim 3). We believe each of our aims are significant and have high health relevance, and in
concert they will lead to enhanced knowledge of how personality can affect health, mortality, and health care
outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9953935
- **Project number:** 5R01AG018436-20
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DANIEL K. MROCZEK
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $332,257
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2000-09-15 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9953935

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9953935, Personality and Well-being Trajectories in Adulthood (5R01AG018436-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9953935. Licensed CC0.

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