The Associations Between Personality Traits, Leisure Activities, and Memory Performance in Older Adulthood
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23947/2334-8496-2023-11-1-129-141Keywords:
personality traits, memory, leisure activities, older adults, SHAREAbstract
The present study examines the links between personality traits, leisure activities, and memory in older adults after controlling for leisure activities and demographic factors. The research sample consisted of 24,930 individuals aged 65 to 101 years from 27 European countries (43.2% men and 56.8% women). Data from the 7th Wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe was analyzed. Memory was assessed using a modified version of Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Personality traits were assessed using the BFI-10 Personality Traits Questionnaire. Data analysis revealed that personality traits such as openness to experience and neuroticism allow for the prediction of memory capacity in older adulthood. These relationships remained significant even after controlling for cognitively stimulating leisure activities and age. These results show that personality traits such as neuroticism and openness to experience might be valuable in predicting memory functioning among older adults.
Downloads
References
Adam, S., Bonsang, E., Grotz, C., & Perelman, S. (2013). Occupational activity and cognitive reserve: implications in terms of prevention of cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical interventions in aging, 377-390. https://doi.org/10.2147/cia.s39921
Arenaza-Urquijo, E. M., Wirth, M., & Chételat, G. (2015). Cognitive reserve and lifestyle: moving towards preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 7, 134. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2015.00134
Axelsson, M., Brink, E., Lundgren, J., & Lötvall, J. (2011). The influence of personality traits on reported adherence to medication in individuals with chronic disease: an epidemiological study in West Sweden. PloS one, 6(3), e18241. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018241
Bergmann, M., Kneip, T., De Luca, G., & Scherpenzeel, A. (2019a). Survey participation in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), Wave 1–7. Based on Release 7.0.0. SHARE Working Paper Series (41-2019). Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA).
Bergmann, M., Scherpenzeel, A., & Börsch-Supan, A. (Eds.). (2019b). SHARE Wave 7 methodology: Panel innovations and life histories. MEA, Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
Börsch-Supan, A. (2019). Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Wave 6; Release Version: 7.0. 0; SHARE-ERIC. Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA): Munich, Germany. https://doi.org/10.6103/SHARE.w7.700
Börsch-Supan, A., Brandt, M., Hunkler, C., Kneip, T., Korbmacher, J., Malter, F., Schaan, B., Stuck, S., & Zuber, S. (2013). Data resource profile: The survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe (SHARE). International Journal of Epidemiology, 42(4), 992–1001. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt088
Boyle, L. L., Lyness, J. M., Duberstein, P. R., Karuza, J., King, D. A., Messing, S., & Tu, X. (2010). Trait neuroticism, depression, and cognitive function in older primary care patients. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(4), 305–312. https://doi.org/10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181c2941b
Cadar, D., Robitaille, A., Clouston, S., Hofer S. M., Piccinin, A. M., & Muniz-Terrera, G. (2017). An in-ternational evaluation of cognitive reserve and memory changes in early old age in 10 European countries. Neuroepidemiology, 48, 9–20. https://doi.org/10.1159/000452276
Chapman, B., Duberstein, P., Tindle, H. A., Sink, K. M., Robbins, J., Tancredi, D. J., Franks, P., & Gingko Evaluation of Memory Study Investigators. (2012). Personality predicts cognitive function over 7 years in older persons. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(7), 612–621. https://doi.org/10.1097/JGP.0b013e31822cc9cb
Chaves, A. S., dos Santos, A. M., de Britto e Alves, M. S. S., & Filho, N. S. (2015). Association between cognitive decline and the quality of life of hypertensive elderly individuals. Brazilian Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology, 18(3), 545–556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-9823.2015.14043
Cheke, L. G., & Clayton, N. S. (2013). Do different tests of episodic memory produce consistent results in human adults? Learning & Memory, 20, 491–498. https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.030502.113
Clare, L., Wu, Y-T., Teale, J. C., MacLeod, C., Matthews, F., Brayne, C., & Woods, B. (2017). Potentially modifiable lifestyle factors, cognitive reserve, and cognitive function in later life: A cross-sectional study. PLoS Medicine, 14(3), Article e1002259. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002259
Colombo, B., Piromalli, G., Pins, B., Taylor, C., & Fabio, R. S. (2019). The relationship between cognitive reserve and personality traits: A pilot study on a healthy aging Italian sample. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(10), 2031–2040. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-019-01386-1
Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1992). Four ways five factors are basic. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 653–665. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(92)90236-I
Curtis, R. G., Windsor, T. D., & Soubelet, A. (2015). The relationship between Big-5 personality traits and cognitive ability in older adults – a review. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 22(1), 42–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2014.888392
Dal Bianco, C., Garrouste, C., & Paccagnella, O. (2013). Early-life circumstances and cognitive func-tioning dynamics in later life. In A. Börsch-Supan, M. Brandt, H. Litwin & G. Webe (Eds.), Active ageing and solidarity between generations in Europe: First results from SHARE after the economic crisis (pp. 209–224). Walter de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110295467.209
Duberstein, P. R., Chapman, B. P., Tindle, H. A., Sink, K. M., Bamonti, P., Robbins J., Jerant, A. F., & Franks, P. (2011). Personality and risk for Alzheimer’s disease in adults 72 years of age and older: A six-year follow-up. Psychology and Aging, 26(2), 351–362. https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0021377
Duggan, K. A., Friedman, H. S., McDevitt, E. A., & Mednick, S. C. (2014). Personality and Healthy Sleep: The Importance of Conscientiousness and Neuroticism. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e90628. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090628
Erber, J. T. (2012). Aging and older adulthood (3rd ed.). Thomson Wadsworth.
Fancourt, D., & Steptoe, A. (2018). Cultural engagement predicts changes in cognitive function in older adults over a 10 year period: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Article 10226. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28591-8
Graham, E. K., & Lachman, M. L. (2014). Personality traits, facets and cognitive performance: Age differences in their relations. Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 89–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.11.011
Hill, N. L., Kolanowski, A. M., Fick, D., Chinchilli, V. M., & Jablonski, R. A. (2014). Personality as a moderator of cognitive stimulation in older adults at high risk for cognitive decline. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 7(4), 159–170. https://doi.org/10.3928/19404921-20140311-01
Hock, R. S., Lee, H. B., Bienvenu, O. J., Nestadt, G., Samuels, J. F., Parisi, J. M., Costa, P. T., Jr., & Spira, A. P. (2014). Personality and cognitive decline in the Baltimore epidemiologic catchment area follow-up study. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(9), 917–925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2012.12.217
Hultsch, D. F., Hertzog, C., Small, B. J., & Dixon, R. A. (1999). Use it or lose it: Engaged lifestyle as a buffer of cognitive decline in aging? Psychology and Aging, 14(2), 245–263. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.14.2.245
Ikeda, Y., Ogawa, N., Yoshiura, K., Han, G., Maruta, M., Hotta, M., & Tabira T. (2019). Instrumental activities of daily living: The processes involved in and performance of these activities by Japanese community-dwelling older adults with subjective memory complaints. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(14), Article 2617. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16142617
Jackson, J. J., Hill, P. L., Payne, B. R., Parisi, J. M., & Stine-Morrow, E. A. (2019). Linking openness to cognitive ability in older adulthood: The role of activity diversity. Aging & mental health, 24(7), 1079-1087. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2019.1655705
Jackson, J., Balota, D. A., & Head, D. (2011). Exploring the relationship between personality and re-gional brain volume in healthy aging. Neurobiology of Aging, 32(12), 2162–2171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.12.009
Katsumi, Y., Denkova, E., & Dolcos, S. (2017). Personality and memory. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer International Publishing AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_992-1
Klaming, R., Veltman, D. J., & Comijs, H. C. (2016). The impact of personality on memory function in older adults—results from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(7), 798–804. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4527
Mousavi-Nasab, S. M. H., Kormi-Nouri, R., & Nilsson, L. (2014). Examination of the bidirectional influences of leisure activity and memory in old people: A dissociative effect on episodic memory. British Journal of Psychology, 105(3), 382–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12044
Lahey, B. B. (2009). Public health significance of neuroticism. American Psychologist, 64(4), 241–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015309
Leavitt, V. M., Buyukturkoglu, K., Inglese, M., & Sumowski, J. F. (2017). Protective personality traits: High openness and low neuroticism linked to better memory in multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 23(13), 1786–1790. https://doi.org/10.1177/1352458516685417
Litwin, H., Schwartz, E., & Damri, N. (2017). Cognitively stimulating leisure activity and subsequent cognitive function: A SHARE-based Analysis. Gerontologist, 57(5), 940–948. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw084
Lojo-Seoane, C., Facal, D., Guarida-Olmos, J., Pereiro, A. X., & Juncos-Rabadan, O. (2018). Effects of cognitive reserve on cognitive performance in a follow-up study in older adults with subjective cognitive complaints. The role of working memory. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 10, Article 189. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00189
Luchetti, M., Terracciano, A., Stephan, Y., & Sutin, A.R. (2016). Personality and cognitive decline in older adults: Data from a longitudinal sample and meta-analysis. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 71(4), 591–601. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbu184
Maldonato, N. M., Sperandeo, R., Dell’Orco, S., Cozzolino, P., Fusco, M. L., Iorio, V. S., Albesi, D., Marone, P., Nascivera, N., & Cipresso, P. (2017). The relationship between personality and neurocognition among the American elderly: An epidemiologic study. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 13, 233–245. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901713010233
Meier, B., Perrig-Chiello, P., & Perrig, W. (2002). Personality and memory in old age. Aging, Neuro-psychology, and Cognition, 9(2), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1076/anec.9.2.135.9544
Mõttus, R., Realo, A., Allik, J., Deary, I. J., Esko, T., & Metspalu, A. (2012). Personality traits and eating habits in a large sample of Estonians. Health Psychology, 31(6), 806–814. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027041
Mousavi-Nasab, S. M. H., Kormi-Nouri, R., & Nilsson, L. G. (2013). Examination of the bidirectional influences of leisure activity and memory in old people: A dissociative effect on episodic memory. British Journal of Psychology, 105(3), 382–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12044
Newton, N. J., Pladevall-Guyer, J., Gonzalez, R., & Smith, J. (2016). Activity engagement and activity-related experiences: The role of personality. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(8), 1480-1490. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw098
Nyberg L., Lövdén, M., Riklund, K., Lindenberger, U., & Bäckman, L. (2012). Memory aging and brain maintenance. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(5), 292–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.04.005
Park, D. C., & Festini, S. B. (2017). Theories of memory and aging: A look at the past and a glimpse of the future. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 72(1), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw066
Rammstedt, B., & John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short ver-sion of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(1), 203–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.02.001
Rammstedt, B., Lechner, C. M., & Danner, D. (2018). Relationships between personality and cognitive ability: A facet-level analysis. Journal of Intelligence, 6(2), Article 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6020028
Scarmeas, N., & Stern, Y. (2003). Cognitive reserve and lifestyle. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 25(5), 625–633. https://doi.org/10.1076/jcen.25.5.625.14576
Schott, N., & Krull, K. (2019). Stability of Lifestyle Behavior – The Answer to Successful Cognitive Aging? A Comparison of Nuns, Monks, Master Athletes and Non-active Older Adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01347
Schwaba, T., Luhmann, M., Denissen, J. J. A., Chung, J. M., & Bleidorn, W. (2018). Openness to experience and culture-openness transactions across the lifespan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115(1), 118–136. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000150
Soubelet, A., & Salthouse, T. A. (2011). Personality–cognition relations across adulthood. Develop-mental Psychology, 47(2), 303–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021816
Stephan, Y., Boiché, J., Canada, B., & Terracciano, A. (2013). Association of personality with physical, social, and mental activities across the lifespan: Findings from US and French samples. British Journal of Psychology, 105(4), 564–580. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12056
Sutin, A. R., Stephan, Y., Luchetti, M., Artese, A., Oshio, A., & Terracciano, A. (2016). The five-factor model of personality and physical inactivity: A meta-analysis of 16 samples. Journal of Research in Personality, 63, 22–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.05.001
Sutin, A. R., Stephan, Y., Luchetti, M., & Terracciano, A. (2019). Five-factor model personality traits and cognitive function in five domains in older adulthood. BMC Geriatrics, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-019-1362-1
Stephan, Y., Sutin, A. R., Luchetti, M., & Terracciano, A. (2020). Personality and memory performance over twenty years: Findings from three prospective studies. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 128, 109885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.109885
Stern, Y. (2002). What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8(3), 448–460. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617702813248
Stern, Y. (2009). Cognitive reserve. Neuropsychologia, 47(10), 2015–2028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.03.004
Terracciano, A., & Costa, P. T. (2004). Smoking and the Five-Factor Model of personality. Addiction, 99(4), 472–481. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00687.x
Terracciano, A., Löckenhoff, C. E., Crum, R. M., Bienvenu, O. J., & Costa, P. T., Jr (2008). Five-factor model personality profiles of drug users. BMC Psychiatry, 8, Article 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-8-22
Uttl, B., White, C. A., Gonzalez, D. W., McDouall, J., & Leonard, C. A. (2013). Prospective memory, personality, and individual differences. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 130. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00130
Walker, K. R., & Tesco, G. (2013). Molecular mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 5, Article 29. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2013.00029
Wang, H. X., Jin, Y., Hendrie, H. C., Liang, C., Yang, L., Cheng, Y., Unverzagt, F. W., Ma, F., Hall, K. S., Murrell, J. R., Li, P., Bian, J., Pei, J. J., & Gao, S. (2013). Late life leisure activities and risk of cognitive decline. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 68(2), 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gls153
Waris, O., Soveri, A., Lukasik, K. M., Lehtonen, M., & Laine, M. (2018). Working memory and the Big Five. Personality and Individual Differences, 130, 26–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.03.027
Weinstein, G., Barak, E. R., Beeri, M. S., & Ravona-Springer, R. (2019). Personality traits and cognitive function in old-adults with type-2 diabetes. Aging & Mental Health, 23(10), 1317–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2018.1493720
Wetherell, J. L., Reynolds, C. A., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N. L. (2002). Anxiety, cognitive performance, and cognitive decline in normal aging. Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 57(3), 246–255. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/57.3.P246
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Viktorija Ivleva, Antanas Kairys

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Metrics
Plaudit
Accepted 2023-04-10
Published 2023-04-20