Personality Traits of Centenarians' Offspring

  1. Jane L Givens MD, MSCE,
  2. Maureen Frederick BA,
  3. Leanne Silverman BA,
  4. Stacy Anderson BA,
  5. Joanna Senville,
  6. Margery Silver EdD,
  7. Paola Sebastiani PhD,
  8. Dellara F Terry MD, MPH,
  9. Paul T. Costa PhD,
  10. Thomas T. Perls MD, MPH

Article first published online: 2 APR 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02189.x

Issue

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Volume 57, Issue 4, pages 683–685, April 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Givens, J. L., Frederick, M., Silverman, L., Anderson, S., Senville, J., Silver, M., Sebastiani, P., Terry, D. F., Costa, P. T. and Perls, T. T. (2009), Personality Traits of Centenarians' Offspring. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57: 683–685. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02189.x

Author Information

  1. From the *New England Centenarian Study, Geriatrics Section, School of Medicine, Boston University and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts†Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, Biomedical Research Center, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland‡Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; and §Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.

*Address correspondence to Thomas Perls, New England Centenarian Study, Geriatrics Section, Boston University Medical Center, 88 E. Newton St., Boston, MA 02118. E-mail: thperls@bu.edu

  1. Jane L Givens is currently at Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research, Boston, MA.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 2 APR 2009
  2. Article first published online: 2 APR 2009

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Keywords:

  • personality;
  • longevity;
  • centenarian;
  • extraversion;
  • neuroticism;
  • agreeableness

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the offspring of centenarians have personality characteristics that are distinct from the general population.

DESIGN: Case-control.

SETTING: Nationwide U.S. sample.

PARTICIPANTS: Unrelated offspring of centenarians (n=246, mean age 75) were compared with published norms.

MEASUREMENTS: Using the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) questionnaire, measures of the personality traits neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were obtained. T-scores and percentiles were calculated according to sex and used to interpret the results.

RESULTS: Male and female offspring of centenarians scored in the low range of published norms for neuroticism and in the high range for extraversion. The women also scored comparatively high in agreeableness. Otherwise, both sexes scored within normal range for conscientiousness and openness, and the men scored within normal range for agreeableness.

CONCLUSION: Specific personality traits may be important to the relative successful aging demonstrated by the offspring of centenarians. Similarities across four of the five domains between male and female offspring is noteworthy and may relate to their successful aging. Measures of personality are an important phenotype to include in studies that assess genetic and environmental influences of longevity and successful aging.

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